Abbott asks support to question benefits change

Retirees!!

Did you receive a letter from the BJ that stated that "your retiree medical benefits were not vested for life and can be changed." And then it goes on to say "however, the Company has chosen to offer a plan that will allow it to continue to provide a premium benefit to you while taking advantage of Medicare's new prescription drug plan."

The inference is that they could at any time, drop the medical and prescription benefits we were guaranteed when we retired or took a voluntary separation.

The ability of the Company to change those benefits means that they can change providers, etc. as long as it is of equal value. (This is according to my counsel.) It does and should not mean they can change the value or drop it entirely as they might want. Keeping the value of the medical coverage is backed by at least two different federal agencies. (Again, according to my counsel.) The Company's stance is that out retirement/separation agreement, signed by their agent, is not a contract. Counsel thinks they have a rather weak argument on this stance.

Bottom line...I want to pursue this for at least two steps to find out if we have a good case. This will cost money and I can't pony up all of it at this point. If we can get enough people who want to pursue this we can get through those first steps relatively inexpensively. If we're on firm ground then we can aggressively pursue it further. But then it will get more expensive and we would have to set up a transparent "slush fund" to make sure everything is above board. Initially, I'm guessing that $50 max from each of us would get this started. With enough people we could cut that cost easily.

Is it worth that much to find out? Think what our cost will be if they leave us dangling in the wind with no coverage!

This is not a class action...and if anybody else wants to take the point I will gladly let them have it and you can bet I'll help finance it.

No commitment at this point. Just need to know if we have enough people that are interested and when they find out the details they might desire to follow through.

While time isn't super critical this action should be started in a month or two.

There is a chance that if the company is found in violation of some federal laws they would be liable for lawyers' fees and costs.

At any rate I would suggest everybody start keeping accurate paper records of any medical expenses that are above what you thought you signed up for.

My e-mail:

rabbott@mindspring.com

Put BJ medical/prescriptions in the subject line so I won't think it is spam and delete it. If you know of anybody that might have an interest, pass this info along. Phone # 330 830-4984.

--bob abbott