Akron is extending a deadline for retirees to decide whether they’re interested in still receiving supplemental health insurance after causing a panic with the original timeframe.
Many retirees received a letter Monday saying they had until Friday to make a decision.
If they didn’t respond by the deadline, the letter threatens in bold red letters: “your supplemental coverage will end Feb. 1, 2017.”
But city spokeswoman Ellen Lander Nischt said the deadline has been extended to Nov. 30.
“No one will be held to that initial deadline,” she said Wednesday.
The letter alarmed retirees, with many being irked by the short deadline given to make a decision.
“Four days is not enough time to look at my options and decide,” said John Lassiter, 64, president of the Akron Area Retired Firefighters and Widows Association.
Some retirees living out of state hadn’t even gotten the letter Monday, he noted.
He said the city should have at least provided 30 days.
Lassiter said he received several panicked calls from members, especially the elderly, who were confused by the letter.
To make matters worse, many retirees reported that they encountered a busy signal or a full voicemail when they called the number provided to ask questions.
Don Davidson, 72, of Green, a former firefighter who retired in 1999, said he called 12 to 15 times and never got through.
The letter provides two boxes that retirees can check. One indicates they are no longer interested in receiving the supplemental benefit, while the other says they are and asks the city to send enrollment information.
Lassister called the letter poorly worded.
“I’d like to know who OK’d that letter to go out as it was written,” he said.
Akron City Council recently approved sweeping changes for retiree benefits at the urging of Mayor Dan Horrigan.
Going forward, retirees will be required to pay $30 a month for health plans for singles and $60 for families. The benefit was free before.
The retiree plan now mirrors the one offered to current workers and require spouses who are eligible for health care elsewhere to take it, in most cases, or pay a surcharge.
It also ends the benefit for any workers hired after Dec. 31.
The supplemental health benefit — originally designed to be a secondary insurance — is provided to more than 2,400 retirees now, and is extended to an additional 1,648 dependents. The administration has said that the city could not continue to offer it for free.
Officials have estimated the current cost at $6 million and said it would grow to more than $11 million in 10 years if not adjusted.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .