CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Retired Mecklenburg County employees are battling for their medical benefits.
Retirees say their dependents’ monthly premiums have always been covered by the county. However, in September, WCNC Charlotte reported the county notified retirees that the coverage was actually a mistake and it will be taken away.
Open enrollment begins in November for county employees and retirees. About 300 retirees will likely be forced to pay more than double what their current monthly premium is if the Board of Commissioners doesn't act.
"We are advocating for those Mecklenburg County employees who were loyal to the county, who are longtime employees of the county, who were promised that benefit and now are about to have it retracted," county retiree Leon Miller explained.
Miller, along with several other retirees, attended the county commissioners meeting Tuesday to call on leaders to continue the benefits they've been receiving for years.
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Many retirees, including Miller, said county policy has given them the same coverage as active employees since the 1980s, including dependents enrolled in their plans.
However,county HR director Keisha Young said at the Tuesday meeting that is incorrect, and retirees will now need to pay for the total cost of their dependents.
"The language in that recommendation was always retirees should be offered the group medical insurance rates, but they should be 100% responsible for the dependent," Young said, referring to the 1981 policy.
County manager Dena Diorio added the only reason retiree dependents were covered was because of a system error that started in 2017.
"We introduced a new plan, when those rates were entered into the system, they were entered incorrectly and retirees were getting a benefit for their dependents that they had not received before," Diorio said.
Diorio said staff members caught the error while working on the county budget in the beginning of 2023, which led to the county notifying retirees their coverage will be changing.
However, Miller and several other retiree -- including the former county attorney and former sheriff -- have said the county has helped cover their dependents' monthly premiums for more than 40 years.
The tug of war over facts and how the policy should be interpreted has led to confusion and frustration among current and former county leaders.
"When information is being presented that's counterfactual and you have no recourse because your three minutes are up, I mean, frustration comes with that," Miller said.
County commissioners have asked for more information on the issue before deciding whether they want to propose a change to the insurance policy.
If the policy is not changed, many retirees’ monthly premiums will more than double starting in January.
There are currently about 300 retirees that have dependents enrolled in their county medical plans, which Diorio said costs the county $2 million annually. Nearly 400 retirees had dependents enrolled in early 2023 but several changed insurance plans after the county notified them of the cost change.
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