Since the 1980s, affordable health insurance rates for City of Chicago retirees had been locked into place by what was known as the Korshak settlement. The terms of the settlement expired in 2013, requiring the City to formulate new options for health insurance for City retirees.
In May of 2013, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a plan to phase out health care benefits for all but a handful of city retirees over the next three years. Former City employees who retired prior to 1989 were shielded from these changes.
For the first time, the City is offering four different health plan options – as well as informing retirees that some may fare better forgoing City insurance altogether and turning to the new ACA health care exchange. Analyzing those options – and understanding each one’s likely impact – can be an intimidating task. The four plans offered by the city are described below.