Deere employees and retiree's cross their fingers

Citing changes in the health-care industry that makes it more difficult for regional companies to compete, Deere & Co. officials said Tuesday the company will sell its managed-care subsidiary to UnitedHealthcare of Minneapolis, the second largest health insurer in the United States.

The transaction is expected to be completed by April 1.

The sale will not change the health benefits of the approximately 500,000 enrollees in John Deere Health Care plans, which include Deere & Co. employees, retirees, surviving spouses and dependents and hundreds of customer employers who buy their company health-insurance plans from Deere.

The report says the company is also buying John Deere Health's building in downtown Moline and will retain the same staff.

While this all sounds good now, it would not come as a shock to find that down the road, the company will quickly move to reduce benefits and/or raise rates, as well as make staff cuts.

We'll see.