Ector County Medical Center Hospital retirees sue over benefits
ODESSA -- A group of 176 former employees of Medical Center Hospital are suing the Ector County Hospital District and its leaders in hopes of forcing them to reinstate retiree health benefits that will expire at the New Year as part of a cost-cutting measure.
The suit alleges that the hospital district violated promises made to the former employees and breached their contracts by removing them from the hospital insurance plan. Hospital officials dispute their claims.
“We very clearly made the promise to our employees that if they met the conditions that were spelled out clearly in policy that they would have coverage until death, and that their dependents would have coverage according to the rules of COBRA,” said lead plaintiff David Meisell, a former human resources administrator for the hospital, in an interview. “And that’s in print.”
COBRA is a federal law that provides continued coverage in certain situations for people who would otherwise lose health benefits.
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