Kodak retirees begin weighing their health care options and costs

With announced cut backs with health insurance and retirement benefits the employees at Kodak are getting restless as the details have not been formally announced. The high cost of insurance is starting to roll up to the larger companies and is no longer just an issue for small businesses. BD

The 60-year-old Greece man and thousands of other Eastman Kodak Co. retirees received the same letter in early August informing them the company will quit paying for their dental and life insurance next year and make sizable cuts in what it pays for medical insurance. Now he and other retirees face the daunting task of deciding what to do about their future insurance needs something they generally havent had to do in the past. And it wont be easy, as they face numerous options and some sizable bills.

Next year the monthly cost of family coverage for Kodak retirees on its group plan through Preferred Care will cost anywhere from free for the CDHP coverage to $2,040 a month for the PPO Max coverage.