From Retirement Heist
-- TRW, anxious because retirees were not dying at the predicted rate, sent out "verify you are not dead" letters to all retirees. It included a requirement to get SSAN info and birth certificates from government agencies. Working with government agencies is a young person's game, not for old people. If you didn't return this letter with the documentation, they would assume you were dead and cancel your health and pension benefits. One third of the retirees didn't return the letters because they were too old to figure out what was going on, suffering dimentia or physically unable to respond. The reporter found, using government death certificate databases that TRW themselves routinely used to verify benefit eligibilty, that only one person had in fact died.
-- A NFL football player suffered the usual numerous injuries that are common to football players over a several year period. When the NFL denied his disability claim that his injuries were football related, he went to court. The NFL with all their resources lawyered up and argued that the health benefits contract stated that the benefits would be paid for "a football related injury." The operative word "a" football related injury. Because the player was disabled by numerous football injuries, and not just a single injury, "a" being singular, he should not be paid. The judge agreed and he was denied disablity.
-- A company sent out health benefit letters to retirees saying there were changes being made to their health plans. There were two options listed, to use a low cost plan or a more expensive plan. Of course, everyone checked the low cost option. What they didn't know is that by checking either option they were opting out of their current health benefit plan, as explained in print almost too small to read. If they had thrown the letter away nothing would have changed to their benefits. When they sent the letter back, their health benefits were gutted with the legal reasoning that the retirees voluntarily agreed to it.
-- TRW, anxious because retirees were not dying at the predicted rate, sent out "verify you are not dead" letters to all retirees. It included a requirement to get SSAN info and birth certificates from government agencies. Working with government agencies is a young person's game, not for old people. If you didn't return this letter with the documentation, they would assume you were dead and cancel your health and pension benefits. One third of the retirees didn't return the letters because they were too old to figure out what was going on, suffering dimentia or physically unable to respond. The reporter found, using government death certificate databases that TRW themselves routinely used to verify benefit eligibilty, that only one person had in fact died.
-- A NFL football player suffered the usual numerous injuries that are common to football players over a several year period. When the NFL denied his disability claim that his injuries were football related, he went to court. The NFL with all their resources lawyered up and argued that the health benefits contract stated that the benefits would be paid for "a football related injury." The operative word "a" football related injury. Because the player was disabled by numerous football injuries, and not just a single injury, "a" being singular, he should not be paid. The judge agreed and he was denied disablity.
-- A company sent out health benefit letters to retirees saying there were changes being made to their health plans. There were two options listed, to use a low cost plan or a more expensive plan. Of course, everyone checked the low cost option. What they didn't know is that by checking either option they were opting out of their current health benefit plan, as explained in print almost too small to read. If they had thrown the letter away nothing would have changed to their benefits. When they sent the letter back, their health benefits were gutted with the legal reasoning that the retirees voluntarily agreed to it.
