WATERLOO -- Some 750 Waterloo-area John Deere salaried retirees and their dependents will see some changes in their health care coverage Jan. 1.

Details of the plan are being outlined to retirees at meetings this week and next and were detailed to reporters in a telephone briefing Monday. Information also was mailed to affected retirees last week.

The changes apply to nonunion salaried employees who retired after July 1, 1993. The 750 Waterloo-area retirees and dependents are part of about 5,000 affected companywide.

It does not affect those who retired before July 1, 1993, nor union-wage retirees covered under the collective bargaining agreement with the United Auto Workers. Deere has a total of 28,000 retirees and dependents.

Part of the changes involve the establishment of reimbursable "retiree medical credits" which Medicare-eligible retirees and spouses can apply toward premiums or other health-care expenses; and the offering of company supported health savings accounts for early retirees not yet eligible for Medicare.

"We believe the large proportion of retirees will have lower health care costs with this approach," Deere spokesman Ken Golden said. "And since we emphasize health and wellness, as well as offer resource programs" to help retirees with benefit choices, "we believe it is a better long-term approach."

A Medicare-eligible retiree "will no longer pay premiums to Deere out of their pension check to supplement his or her Medicare coverage with a blanket policy chosen by Deere," Golden said. "Instead, Deere will make available retiree medical credits to the retiree and he or she has the option to choose the coverage that best suits their individual needs."

Medicare-eligible retirees and spouses would receive retiree medical credits of $427.50 a month to reimburse them for premium payments or other health expenses. The dollar amount of medical credits would be reviewed annually and adjusted as needed depending on market conditions, said Glenn Huston, manager of employee benefits for Deere at company headquarters in Moline, Ill.

Retirees not yet eligible for Medicare would receive a $1,300 contribution by Deere to a health savings account, to which employees can make tax-deductible contributions to their health expenses. Unused portions of those contributions can be carried over year to year, and the company health savings account contribution also would be reviewed annually. The company is still picking up a major portion of those employees' premiums.

Golden said Deere is still paying more than three fourths of the cost of health care for both Medicare-eligible and non-Medicare eligible retirees.

He emphasized that affected retirees must take action and enroll in a coverage plan, unlike past years when coverage automatically continued if retirees took no action.

Deere began requiring salaried employees and retirees to begin paying a portion of their health care costs in 1993. The company decided to retain benefits in place for those who retired prior to July 1, 1993.

Some individuals already had called The Courier last week expressing apprehension about the changes.

"We believe any misconceptions about the changes will be cleared up once retirees read their materials, come to meetings and get answers to their questions," Golden said.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com.