Kodak Retiree Explains Importance of Health Insurance
By: Caroline Tucker
Updated: November 9, 2012
Tens of thousands of former Kodak workers are trying to decide what plan to get for health insurance coverage.
The time is ticking because the company is ending benefits December 31.
There are retirees like 86 year-old Bob Norton who are taking the decision very seriously.
Norton is always on the move.
"Until recently, [I] never worried about my health," said Bob Norton.
Then last year a dog gate tripped him up.
"It was this fence gone over many times but was in a hurry. And the hurry caused me to trip, fall and spend Christmas in the hospital," said Norton.
Bob broke a femur and underwent a triple heart bypass.
He spent 106 days in the hospital and rehab.
"It gives you different insight into healthcare," said Norton.
But the Kodak retiree had Medicare and extra coverage provided by his former employer.
"I realized how much it did cost me because I had to pay out of pocket close to $19,000 dollars," said Norton
And that was with Kodak coverage.
He loses that at the end of the year.
He's trying to figure out which plan to now buy to protect his future health.
MVP, Excellus, and United Healthcare are all on his list.
"It's been an education over the last three or four weeks here," said Norton.
It's coverage that means more to him than ever before.
"I am about 99-percent through with therapy, I hope to get back swinging a golf club," said Norton.
Norton says it's important for retirees to consider all of their options and protect themselves for those times for the unexpected.
