Gannett Voluntary Buyouts

COBRA sucks and is expensive, but ALL health insurance is expensive. (Different subject, as much as I don't want socialism, I think socialized medicine would be a good thing.) If I recall correctly, the only decent thing about COBRA is you get it for the same rate your company gets it, but without the company's contribution, so you pay for the whole enchilada yourself. The price is probably only slightly less than if you acted on your own without a group plan.

 

So you recommend Obamacare or going without?

 

Going without will always top COBRA on my list. Whether Obamacare tops going without depends on how much better Obamacare is than COBRA. For a person out of work (hence the reason COBRA is even in the discussion), it's basically three shit choices.

 

COBRA at one time was very good for people who were high risk for medical insurance for reasons of age or a pre existing condition. So it could be much cheaper than finding an individual plan for those folks. But someone who was 25 and healthy might do better on an individual plan. Obamacare though, offers income subsidies for married couples earning up to approximately $66,000 (more with children) and might be a better deal. But I would want some insurance if I was close to retirement.

The reason I would want something is I was taking a day off after Christmas in my 55th year. I woke and felt tired going down the stairs. So I called my doctor and went in to see him. He listened to my heart and sent me to the emergency room. I was back home for dinner with a diagnosis of atrial fib. I suppose Obamacare could have bailed me out but I soon needed a pacemaker. That surgery could have caused me to remortgage my house if I did not have insurance.

 

Even when I was younger and felt untouchable, I always had a massive fear of being without insurance for even a day.

When between jobs, or new to a job and not yet eligible for health insurance, I always would go to the local State Farm guy and buy some high-deductible, catastrophic policy. One where if I caught strep throat or sprained an ankle, it wouldn't rise to the level of needing to use it. But if I had a heart attack or fell down a well, it would save me from bankruptcy and trying to dig my way out from it for the next 20 years.

 

Pretty much the way to go. We hear "we can't afford it" and for good reason. And, understanding that I don't wish for any carrier to earn one more penny off anyone, we can't afford to go without it.

 

So what if, completely hypothetically, you're someone who's actually considering this? Asking for a friend, of course. It's the middle of a pandemic and the job market sucks. Should she have her head examined?

 

Does your friend want to stay in journalism? Does your friend feel comfortable saying goodbye to that chapter of her life?

Does your friend dislike her current work situation? Is she stressed? Always looking over her shoulder, wondering if she’ll be the next to go?

At this point I think everyone should jump ship, but that’s coming from a guy who held on for five years too long and is angry at myself for allowing that to happen.

 

I'll take a buyout today if the alternative is "you'll get no severance if laid off."

But so far every layoff has been accompanied by the same severance the buyout people got (other than the first one, back in 2007, which gave everybody who took it a year's salary).

30 months until retirement anyway.

 

The other important question - Can this person survive on six months of unemployment, or longer, once the buyout funds expire? For many journalists, that's a no, because they can't make rent. Maybe you can if you've got a partner who has enough income to cover expenses for a stretch, but that's not everyone's case.

Crunch the numbers. It's important to evaluate your mental health and happiness in the job, but sometimes the numbers will make the decision for you. What will your health and happiness be if you're moving back in with your parents. What if it goes so far as to be homeless?

 

How long has she been there? If she's been there 5 years and basically gets a month of severance, that's a tough jump to make. If she's been there 25 years and would get 6 months of severance, maybe.

Is she single and her household's sole bread-winner, or does she have a spouse to help shoulder the load?

Is she in a small town with limited opportunities, or in a metro-type area where there are many opportunities, even in a pandemic?

Is she willing to relocate to wherever she can find employment?

Is she optimistic the economy and job market will open back up before her severance runs out?

Lots of variables, especially in the time of COVID.

 

Does your friend really have any idea how competitive in the economy of 2020? If not I would think your friend should not take the buyout but should start looking really hard for a new job. And see how many and what kind of jobs show up, if any. And if your friend finds out that she seems to be landing lots of interviews for good jobs then she can either take one or wait for the next buyout/bloodletting. If she finds very little out there then that is interesting knowledge to have.

But until you start looking it can be difficult to know that. At times in my life I found that there was less demand for my talents as I had thought by several orders of magnitude. And at times, not as frequently, actually more than I thought.