the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Mar 4, 2013
The State of California recently informed long-term care insurance policyholders that there will be an 85% rate increase in 2015. This insurance is run under the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). This type of insurance covers around 148,000 public pensioners in California and supports payment for nursing-home stays, home-health visits and other residential care, which are generally not covered by Medicare. Main claimants of such insurance are people afflicted by dementia and stroke.
This rate increase is shocking for people retired from the state with fixed and limited income. For example, a math teacher belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District was notified that his rates will rise to about $5,000 a year in 2015! This is not affordable for most of the public retirees. And people expect that there will be many such hikes in the future.
Increases like this will force most of the retirees out of this system. As a result, they will not be able to claim any benefits when they are in need, although they have paid into this system for many years when they were healthy.
Elders and the poor are most in need of health care. What kind of a system puts benefits like this out of reach when most needed? A system that should be junked immediately along with its administrators.