Retired Denver police officers face health insurance premium hikes of as much as 68 percent next year, forcing some to cancel their policies.
Paul Mueller, 57, who retired last year after 35 years on the force, said his monthly health insurance premium for his wife and him jumped from $800 a month when he retired in May 2004 to $949 a month this year and will rise to $1,600 a month Jan. 1.
“I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ve called three other carriers, and they refused to take me because of prior medical conditions. Nobody wants to insure me. The only thing I can do is find a policy for my wife, then try to find something for me.”
Mueller said the new premium is three times what his salary was when he joined the force in 1969. Other retired officers said their new premiums are more than their mortgage payments.
A portion of the increase was blamed on a decision last summer by Kaiser Permanente and PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. – the two health insurance carriers for the department – to eliminate the pooling of policies for active-duty officers and retired officers Jan. 1.
The health insurers reasoned that retired officers have more claims than younger, active-duty officers and should pay separately.
The retirees asked the Police Protective Association, the department’s union, to vote on keeping the policies blended so the premium increase for active- duty officers would offset part of the premium increase for retired officers.
The PPA, however, rejected the request last week by a vote of 412-235.
PPA president Mike Mosco, who was out of state last week, said he wasn’t sure why the officers refused to help the retirees. He also said the city charter prohibits the PPA from representing the retirees in contract negotiations.
The health insurance policies for retirees are part of the three- year contract the city has with the department.
The contract, now in its second year, is virtually impossible to reopen, the union said. Retirees pay 100 percent of their health insurance premiums, with no contribution from the city, Mueller said.
“The sad part of this is that there is no long-term plan,” said Mueller, who doesn’t qualify for Medicare until 2013. “The active-duty officers today are going to find themselves in the same boat we’re in.”
Staff writer Mike McPhee can be reached at 303-820-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com.
