* * * n.b. DonDiego posts this information [from the New York Times no less] solely for educational purposes. He takes no position; he blames no one in particular; he just provides interesting speculation from the Old Gray Lady related to Detroit, in particular, . . . and future municipal bankruptcies, in general. * * *
"As Detroit enters the federal bankruptcy process, the city is proposing a controversial plan for paring some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets that will soon be operating under the Obama health care law.
Officials say the plan would be part of a broader effort to save Detroit tens of millions of dollars in health costs each year, . . .
Unfunded retiree health care costs loom larger than ever for localities across the country, and the health law’s guarantee of federal subsidies to help people with modest incomes afford coverage has made the new insurance markets tantalizing for local governments. A study issued this year by the Pew Charitable Trusts found 61 of the nation’s major cities wrestling with $126 billion in retiree health costs, all but 6 percent of that unfunded."
So, Detroit intends to lay off its health care obligations onto Obamacare, . . . so the Federal Government and Federal taxpayers can take care of the shortfalls.
And Chicago is making plans to shift its retirees into Obamacare Plans as well, if they can get away with it, . . . to save itself $175-million-per-year.
This looks like it could get expensive if'n other cash-strapped cities get wind of it.
Ref: Detroit Looks to Obamacare
Oh, . . . and just for some background on Detroit's decline, . . . and prospects for some other American cities, here's a NYT report from a reporter for WJBK-TV in Detroit: Come See Detroit, America's Future.
It isn't pretty.
