Some retired Fresno Unified employees say their simmering frustration with their health care benefits, which remain in limbo, stems back to the district’s 2023 decision to outsource retiree coverage to a profit-driven private insurer.
Thousands of retirees lost access to some of the region’s major local health care facilities Jan. 1 because of a dispute between a Fresno Unified insurance provider, Aetna, and Community Health System, the Fresno area’s largest health care provider.
The disruption impacted about 6,200 retirees and dependents enrolled in the Aetna program, of which 1,500 received primary medical care services under the Community Health System network of clinics and hospitals, according to the district…