Ray and Teresa Wilson sat at a table in their North Jackson home Wednesday, shuffling through medical bills that told a grim story: $4,000 for three months worth of shots for the Embrel that Teresa needs for her rheumatoid arthritis but for which Ray's former employer, defunct Amweld Building Products in Niles, no longer is paying.
''I can't function without this medicine,'' said Teresa, who said she also is taking medicine for her kidneys that are operating at 50 percent.
In addition, retirees say health insurance premiums of as much as $770 have been deducted as usual this year from their monthly pension checks, even after their coverage ended without their knowledge on Jan. 1.
The cancellation, which occurred even though they got new insurance cards last week, leaves them with medical and drug bills they thought were paid - and the challenge of finding an insurer that will take on people with pre-existing conditions.
''My main concern is insurance for my wife. She has pre-existing conditions that aren't life-threatening now but which could turn into something,'' said Lordstown resident Sam Glunt, 64, who himself has had cancer twice and had a heart attack last year that involved removing his spleen.
If that weren't bad enough, retirees say Aetna, which paid bills for January and February, now is seeking repayment of those costs from them.
''Aetna wants money for (prescriptions and other expenses) that I already paid for,'' said Jon Powell, 61, a Howland resident who said his $770 premium takes more than half of his monthly pension check. ''I said send my (premium) money back. They said they don't have it. You pay twice, and you get nothing.''
Howland's Tom Coe, who worked 41 years at Amweld and who will be 63 in two weeks, said he received a statement from Aetna seeking about $77 in repayments.
He said when he told the Aetna employee that he'd paid his premium and had a valid insurance card, he was told Amweld International called Aetna on Feb. 26 and canceled the coverage, retroactive to Jan. 1.
''Everything we did they say isn't covered,'' Coe said, adding the Aetna employee told him it was the company's responsibility, not Aetna's, to inform the retirees of the change.
The retirees say they spent decades at Amweld, a company that made steel doors and frames at plants in Niles and Garrettsville before closing them in October 2007 and moving the work to lower-wage Mexico.
A new company, Amweld International LLC, announced Jan. 12 it had bought the assets of Amweld Building Products parent, Ark II Manufacturing LLC, following a Jan. 10 foreclosure and auction.
Amweld International, which retirees say is controlled by Lynn Tilton, founder and chief executive officer of $6-plus billion private equity fund Patriarch Partners, lists an Ohio billing office in North Jackson. Employees at the office said the company have nothing to do with Amweld Building Products or any retiree health care issues.
A telephone message left at the company's corporate distribution center in Coppell, Texas, wasn't returned Wednesday.
The company also lists a plant in Monterrey, Mexico, and the Firedoor plant in Miami, Fla.
Powell said he received a letter from Aetna March 2 stating the health coverage was canceled. Premiums have continued to be deducted from his and other retirees' pension checks, which are sent by banking company Wachovia.
Bob Kovach of Weathersfield said he didn't realize that an insurance premium of $317 - roughly half of his pension - still was deducted from his check because the money is deposited directly into his bank account.
Kovach said he recently spent three days in intensive care - a bill he said Humility of Mary St. Joseph is helping him with - but he's passing on a surgeon's visit for a staph infection, along with other doctors' visits.
He said he's also found out he's diabetic and has high blood pressure. In all, he said he takes 11 different medications.
Retirees suspect Amweld is keeping the money because, as Powell noted, ''Wachovia doesn't have it, and Aetna said it doesn't have it, so logically Amweld has it.''
Retirees are seeking help from U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, and the United Steelworkers. Ryan spokesman Pat Lowry and Steelworkers attorney Mel Stein said they've contacted the U.S. Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which insures pension funds, to get answers.
Lowry said the fear is the retirees' pensions eventually may become an issue.
''Obviously, the congressman is concerned,'' Lowry said. ''The fear is this is going to end up like some other companies where retirees lose pensions and health care. We'll try to work hard to prevent that.''
Stein said the pensions are vested and the money should be in a trust of some sort. But he noted the plan's former administrator was fired, leaving no information on who is responsible for the pension plan.
''They seem to be thinking they can walk away,'' he said, adding, ''We hope the money is there, and if not, we hope someone goes to jail, but who knows?''
