Search the News Archive

Lawsuit Alleges JPMorgan Chase Agreed to Inflated Drug Prices for Workers

"[T]he lawsuit accuses central Ohio's largest private employer of failing its employees by agreeing to overcharges in prescription drugs by the company's pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), CVS Caremark. As a PBM, Caremark sets the drug prices for JPMorgan Chase's employee health plans." [Stern v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., No. 25-2097 (S.D.N.Y. complaint filed Mar. 13, 2025)]

Bill Would Protect Multiemployer Plan Participants from Benefit Cuts

"The Teamsters Union has been working with several members of Congress to develop legislation that would prevent massive cuts to some pension beneficiaries.... S.1631 and House Resolution 2844, the Keep Our Pension Promises Act, sponsored by Sanders in the Senate and Kaptur in the House, not only would restore the anti-cutback rule but also would help prevent multiemployer pension plans from failing by making pension obligations a higher priority in bankruptcy proceedings, which would reduce the number of plans that become 'orphaned.' The bill also creates a legacy fund within the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation by closing two tax loopholes that only benefit the wealthiest members of society."

Central States Pension Fund Continues to Bleed as Congress Debates Aid

"The Central States fund had just $13.1 billion in assets as of June 30 and is on track to go broke in 2025, ... spending $2.1 billion more than it takes in every year. The fund ... is among the biggest in the country, covering about 400,000 retirees, active workers and people hoping to collect a pension from the fund someday."

Ohio Public Employee 'Double-Dipping' Debate Resumes in Legislature

"The bill would prevent someone from collecting a pension check and a salary at the same time. So if a retiree returned to a public job, his or her pension payments would be set aside in a separate account. The employee would get those deferred payments when he or she leaves government employment for good."

Report Details Why Salaried Delphi Retirees Lost Pension

"The report found that GM had little say in whether it could continue to authorize benefits for the salaried retirees, and needed the Treasury Department's consent to offer such benefits. Steven Rattner, leader of the Auto Team -- a four-member group of Treasury officials tasked with guiding GM through the restructuring process -- told the inspector general that at one point GM approached the Auto Team because it wanted to help the salaried employees. Rattner ultimately told the inspector general that there was nothing commercially defensible that could be done for the salaried retirees."

Teachers' Union-Supported Proposal to Ohio Legislature Would Raise Employee Contributions, Lower Benefits

"Under the new plan, unanimously OK'd last week by the board of the 470,000-member State Teachers Retirement System, teachers could retire at any age until mid-2015 and get a full benefit if they have worked 30 years. The years-of-service requirement would gradually rise, though, so that after mid-2026, teachers could not stop working and receive a full benefit until they are 60 and have 35 years in."

Honda Cuts Pensions, Reduces Benefits

"Instead of a defined-benefit pension, new employees will be offered a 401(k) savings plan, a version of which has previously been offered as a supplement to the pension. The switch will occur in January.... Honda is also changing the way it handles early retirement and retiree health insurance, shifting to plans that will provide less-generous benefits."

State Must Act to Help 1.8 Million Ohioans Who Don't Have a Workplace Retirement Plan

"A 2023 study from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that employees' insufficient retirement savings has led to increased public assistance costs for retirees, reduced tax revenue for the state, decreased household spending and lower employment, with an estimated price tag for Buckeye State taxpayers of $11.7 billion over 20 years. That's why forward-thinking Ohio policymakers are to working to pass the bipartisan House Bill 501, which would create a legislative study committee to examine how to help the more than 1.8 million private sector workers in the state who do not have a workplace retirement plan."

Health Insurers in Ohio Must Keep Provider Directories Up-To-Date

"[A] rule that takes effect in January ... will require health-insurance companies to update their directories of health-care providers at least every three months. And within 15 business days of a doctor or other health-care provider leaving the network, the insurance company must not only update its directory but also notify consumers who have received health-care services from that provider in the previous year."

Ohio's Public Pension Plans Need More Cuts, Consultant Says

"Hundreds of thousands of state and local government employees in Ohio could face additional cuts in their retirement and health-care benefits under a long-awaited consultant's report unveiled yesterday. In part because the legislature has dawdled in approving plans to revamp the retirement systems, Ohio's five public-employee pension funds need further trims on top of reductions contained in a series of bills passed by the Senate in May. State law requires each system to have a funding setup designed to meet all financial obligations within 30 years."