More Trouble in Coal Country: Health Care at Risk for 12,000 Retired Miners and Their Families

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Earlier this month, ProPublica wrote about Patriot Coal’s attempt to redirect $18 million intended for the health benefits of about 200 retired miners in southern Indiana. 

This latest maneuver easily dwarfs that, Alec MacGillis writes. Peabody Energy Corp., the nation’s largest coal company, is seeking release from a pledge to pay into a health insurance fund that is eight times as big — $145 million — impacting a pool of 12,000 retired miners, their dependents and widows.

If Peabody prevails, the fund will run dry early next year, much sooner than expected. This will raise pressure in Congress to bail out the fund with taxpayer money. <script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js” async=”true”></script>

Hillary Clinton issued a statement yesterday about Peabody’s plan: “These are people who put their own health and safety at risk for years … They are entitled to the benefits they’ve earned, and which Peabody just two years ago committed to pay. I hope Peabody does the right thing …”

More in the full story here: http://www.propublica.org/article/health-care-at-risk-for-12000-retired-coal-miners-and-their-families

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