Medical Benefits

We spend years (we hope) saving for retirement and years (again, we hope) managing the nest egg while in retirement. But what about that pivotal year when we hang it up? Miss a deadline or miscalculate a 401(k) payout and you could be in real trouble. So here's a guide to getting the proverbial ducks in a row in that final 12 months leading up to quitting time: Make sure you can do this. Many workers start dreaming about quitting long before their bank accounts would justify doing so. "They get it in their head that they're going to retire by a certain age, and it's hard to shake," said Patricia Wiley, a New York-based principal with Ernst & Young who co-wrote the firm's retirement planning guide.

The primary elections for Baltimore's next mayor might be four months away, but at least one community group has begun building its campaign agenda on two issues it views as critical to the city: better-paying jobs and medical benefits.Four years ago, Baltimoreans United for Leadership Development (BUILD) successfully pushed for the city to adopt a "living wage" bill requiring any business receiving a city contract to pay workers at least $6.10 an hour, well over the $4.25 minimum wage at the time.

WASHINGTON -- Taking on a significant case on patients' rights, the Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide whether it's legal for doctors to cut back on treatment to save money for a medical benefits group such as a health maintenance organization.The outcome of an Illinois case may go far toward determining how much protection federal law will offer Americans in the face of cost-cutting efforts by "managed-care" plans.The court, showing a fresh willingness to become involved in sensitive social issues, also agreed for the first time to sort out the rights of grandparents to visit their grandchildren when the parents object.

Police sworn to protect us; we must reciprocateThese are prosperous economic times for the citizens of Howard County.With 2.3 percent unemployment, a resurgence in commercial and residential building, a rainy day fund in excess of $20 million and AAA bond ratings, we are frequently reminded of the accomplishments of our local officials.Howard continues to rank as one of the safest and wealthiest counties in the state and nation, attributes that continue to draw new residents to our planned communities and attractive surroundings.

It was widely deemed good news that yet another medical study, this one more comprehensive than earlier ones, confirmed the medical benefits of taking one drink a day. A shot a day keeps the doctor at bay; it's a saying in the process of establishing itself.It doesn't matter much whether it's a glass of wine, a stein of beer or a shot of whiskey. In whatever guise, booze will do much DTC to enhance the longevity of the imbiber. It's best for codgers and those in middle life than for the sprouts.

Patient should pay for extra careIn reference to the Jan. 28 letter, "Insurance firms value profits more than babies," I would like to say that as a member of a group insurance plan I have followed the debate surrounding early hospital discharge of new mothers and babies with great interest. While I understand the desirability of keeping postpartum women in the hospital longer than 24 hours, I also recognize the need to cut costs. There is, however, a solution. Let the patient pay for the extra day out of pocket.

Parties in a court case concerning medical benefits for about 700 retirees of the defunct Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. have called a time-out in the proceedings to give them a chance to work out a new arrangement.In the meantime, retirees, many of whom live in the Baltimore area, will continue to be covered by the current system, said John T. Ward, a partner in the law firm representing the retirees.Fruehauf Trailer Corp. -- a company created from former shipyard owner Fruehauf Corp.

Former Baltimore Comptroller Jacqueline F. McLean, whose political career ended with her conviction in a corruption scandal last year, is fighting to keep her pension.Lawyers for Mrs. McLean yesterday appealed a decision by city trustees to revoke her $23,850 annual pension. The seven-member pension board voted in a closed-door session April 6 that Mrs. McLean had to relinquish her benefits because she was convicted of theft and misconduct.Mrs. McLean tearfully pleaded guilty in September to stealing thousands in taxpayer dollars by having a fictitious employee on her payroll.

Indicted Baltimore Comptroller Jacqueline F. McLean's medical insurance benefits ran out over the weekend, jeopardizing her continued treatment for depression at a private psychiatric hospital.Mrs. McLean, who is accused of stealing more than $25,000 in public funds and trying to arrange a city lease for the former headquarters of her travel agency, has been under care at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Towson.Her city health benefits expired Saturday, however, and Mrs. McLean could either be discharged or committed to a state mental health institution, warned her attorney, M. Cristina Gutierrez.

Samala Mason and Douglas "Squirt" Blake might seem a classic case of young people headed for poverty.Sam, 18, unmarried and pregnant, product of a broken home, lived with her mother and sister in Freetown Village, a public housing complex in Anne Arundel County. Doug, 21, a high school dropout, unskilled and unemployed, lived with various relatives.They wanted to get married but delayed their plans so Sam would qualify for Aid to Families with Dependent Children and medical benefits. It seemed the only option.

While researching the multitude of questions that come with being a new mother, Tina Overton encountered one that made her dizzy: whether to circumcise her newborn son. She never had reason to think about it before, let alone consider an alternative. But quickly, Overton became familiar with a small but vocal minority of parents and researchers arguing against circumcision. After months of scouring books, articles and the Internet, she reasoned the procedure was unnecessary, painful - and a violation of her son's human rights.

We spend years (we hope) saving for retirement and years (again, we hope) managing the nest egg while in retirement. But what about that pivotal year when we hang it up? Miss a deadline or miscalculate a 401(k) payout and you could be in real trouble. So here's a guide to getting the proverbial ducks in a row in that final 12 months leading up to quitting time: Make sure you can do this. Many workers start dreaming about quitting long before their bank accounts would justify doing so. "They get it in their head that they're going to retire by a certain age, and it's hard to shake," said Patricia Wiley, a New York-based principal with Ernst & Young who co-wrote the firm's retirement planning guide.

SAN FRANCISCO - The cost of providing health care to workers has surpassed that of paid leave as the most expensive benefit for employers, according to a new report. In the first quarter of this year, medical benefits accounted for 23 percent of compensation outside of wages, compared with 22.6 percent for paid leaves, including vacations and sick time, according to a study from the Employment Policy Foundation, an economic research foundation that focuses on workplace issues. It's the first time in the past 10 years health care costs exceeded the paid leave category, foundation President Ed Potter said.

Tens of thousands of retired workers, long accustomed to generous health benefits, are being hit by huge increases in premiums as rising medical care costs strain tight corporate budgets in a lackluster economy. The costs for providing benefits to retirees are rising even faster than premiums for active workers, pushing more companies to eliminate future retirement health benefits. More than 12 million retirees have some kind of medical coverage, provided by about half of U.S. companies with 1,000 or more employees.

As Bethlehem Steel Corp. looks for a way out of its financial morass and Congress debates whether the government should help, retirees of Sparrows Point are watching anxiously to see what happens to the benefits they thought they had earned after decades of work at the plant. The Baltimore area is home to about 20,000 Bethlehem retirees and surviving spouses. They count on the steelmaker for their pensions and to help pay for their medical benefits and prescription drugs. But with the company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and facing pension and health-care obligations of about $5 billion without nearly enough funds to pay for them, the once solid benefits retirees counted on are now anything but. "It's scary, really," said Fred Crenshaw, 65, of Edgewood, who worked at the Sparrows Point tin mill for nearly 43 years before retiring four years ago. "If I had to put out for medical expenses, I'd be bankrupt - I'd be in Chapter 11 or Chapter 7 myself."

In a move to block the hiring of retired Anne Arundel police officers as deputy sheriffs under a new county law, the Teamsters filed for an injunction in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court yesterday. The union is also asking the court declare the provisions of the county law - which became effective Dec. 3 and allows Sheriff George F. Johnson IV to hire county police retirees to work as deputies while they collect their pensions - invalid, illegal and void. Under the law, retired officers who are rehired cannot have a second pension or additional medical benefits.

There is growing support among Columbia Council members to restore village workers who were abruptly stricken from the Columbia Association employee rolls more than a year and a half ago, Councilman Adam Rich said yesterday. But village officials - who have complained about reductions in their health benefits and the sudden and secretive manner in which the change was implemented - would lose some autonomy under the new arrangement, he said. If the Columbia Association takes back bookkeeping, human resources and other functions from the villages, it also would assume the power to hire, fire and set policy for the villages, Rich said.

As relatives remembered Officer Kevon M. Gavin yesterday as "the essence of a family man," police charged a 17-year-old Baltimore youth with first-degree murder in connection with his death. Eric Stennett of the 800 block of Harlem Ave. was released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center yesterday and was taken to Central Booking and Intake Center after being charged last night, said Sgt. Scott Rowe, a police spokesman. Police said Stennett, wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with a semiautomatic handgun, was fleeingafter officers allegedly saw him shoot an 18-year-old man near South Pulaski Street and Wilkens Avenue in Southwest Baltimore.

WASHINGTON -- Taking on a significant case on patients' rights, the Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide whether it's legal for doctors to cut back on treatment to save money for a medical benefits group such as a health maintenance organization.The outcome of an Illinois case may go far toward determining how much protection federal law will offer Americans in the face of cost-cutting efforts by "managed-care" plans.The court, showing a fresh willingness to become involved in sensitive social issues, also agreed for the first time to sort out the rights of grandparents to visit their grandchildren when the parents object.

The primary elections for Baltimore's next mayor might be four months away, but at least one community group has begun building its campaign agenda on two issues it views as critical to the city: better-paying jobs and medical benefits.Four years ago, Baltimoreans United for Leadership Development (BUILD) successfully pushed for the city to adopt a "living wage" bill requiring any business receiving a city contract to pay workers at least $6.10 an hour, well over the $4.25 minimum wage at the time.