Retired printers who got back cheaper prescriptions

In an earlier post about retired printer Hugh Downing, I mentioned that those who were named in the lawsuit are saving hundreds of dollars that those who did not join the lawsuit are paying. The original post:

Hugh and Sharon have another reason to be happy. They were among the retired printers in the health care lawsuit against the Beacon Journal. A judge’s preliminary injunction restored their prescription co-pay benefits, made the BJ reimburse them for their extra prescription costs above the retirement-day co-pays and reinstated secondary insurance coverage, which usually pays the 20% of the costs that Medicare allows but doesn’t pay. Medicare pays the other 80%.

Only those printers named in the lawsuit got their $2 to $5 co-pay prescription benefits back and reimbursement for overpayments -- husband and wife Dave and Gina White, who live in Venice, Florida after decades of residing in Sarasota; Norm Mattern; Ray Wolfe; Ruth West; Bob Abbott; and three or four others whose names I don’t know yet.

Retired printers who did not join the lawsuit continue to pay hundreds of dollars more than those who signed up for the lawsuit.

I asked the attorneys for the retired printers to give me the complete list of those who are in the lawsuit and thus have had their $2 to $5 prescription co-pay cards restored. His reply:

The named plaintiffs in the White case are:
Dave & Regina White
Hugh and Sharon Downing
Ruth and Tom West
Bob Abbott
Bob Walker
Larnie and Stephanie Greene
Ora and Shirley Thombs
Ray and Amy Wolfe
Norm and Naomi Mattern

However, I was not accurate about those who had the BJ going back to paying the 20% of the amount that Medicare approved (Medicare pays the 80%; the BJ the other 20%) for medical care (doctors, hospitals, etc.). Some got the 20% co-pay back, some did not, depending on when they retired. Again, the attorney's clarification:

While all have had their Rx benefit restored, only those who retired in or before 1992, under their retirement letters, will receive a secondary-insurance benefit.

So those who joined the retired printers lawsuit are paying hundreds of dollars less than retired printers who did NOT join the lawsuit. In my case, for example, losing the $2 co-pay card has cost me an extra $6,837.29 in out-of-pocket prescription payments since Feb. 1, 2007 when Black Press instituted the health care changes.

I have filed a similar lawsuit against the BJ for the health care coverage changes made for Guild retirees, particularly changes made Feb. 1, 2007 after Black Press became the BJ's owner.

--- John Olesky