Lackawanna, NY – Tens of thousands of Bethlehem Steel retirees enter health care limbo this week, as their company-paid coverage ceases.
After Monday, the bankrupt steel company stops paying for health and life insurance coverage for about 95,000 retirees and their families. Local officials of the United Steel Workers union say about 12,000 retired employees at Bethlehem's Lackawanna plant are affected.
That comes as Bethlehem prepares to sell its mills and other assets to International Steel Group of Cleveland, Ohio.
Those assets include the galvanizing plant in Lackawanna. It's the last link to Bethlehem's glory days as a steel-maker. At one point, more than 20,000 people were employed at the company's sprawling complex along the Lake Erie waterfront.
Under the federal program known as "COBRA," the retirees will be able to extend their current coverage for another six months.