After 22 years, my employee ties are severed

[First day as Gannett employee: Little Rock, Ark., October 1987]

The last of those ties to Gannett as an employee were monthly checking account debits to pay for my COBRA health insurance coverage. But I dropped that plan earlier this month after the company canceled its contract with my preferred HMO, Kaiser Permanente. I got a letter today from Gannett, confirming my decision -- and finalizing my last employee connection to the company. I started in October 1987 at The Arkansas Gazette, which the company closed during the 1991 recession.

After shopping for a new healthcare plan, I applied to Kaiser for a high-deductible one, which would have cost about $300 a month, with a $3,000 annual deductible. But I was turned down. Instead, I've bought a so-called conversion policy, which preserves my medical benefits almost exactly as they were when I worked for Gannett -- with one big difference. As an active employee, my old premium was $150 a month two years ago, when I took a buyout from USA Today. My new premium under this conversion: $621 a month. That vividly illustrates how much Gannett and other employers subsidize our healthcare costs.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.