Detroit’s retired firefighters made it through the city’s bankruptcy with their pensions intact, but they lost their healthcare.
Today, many of these retired firefighters aren’t just battling illnesses like cancer – they’re also shouldering tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.
From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Michigan Radio’s Kate Wells reports.
- Michigan Radio: Detroit’s retired firefighters battle cancer, medical bills
Reporter
- Kate Wells, arts, culture, and education reporter and producer for Michigan Radio. She tweets @KateLouiseWells.
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![Gary Schultz is a retired Detroit firefighter with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. (Kate Wells/Michigan Radio)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0fa67f6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/744x558+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wbur.org%2Fwordpress%2F11%2Ffiles%2F2015%2F03%2F0324_fire3.jpg)
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![Duane and Ginger Kelley get a stipend from the city to buy healthcare: $125 for her and $175 dollars for him. (Kate Wells/Michigan Radio)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4dcc8a5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/687x515+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wbur.org%2Fwordpress%2F11%2Ffiles%2F2015%2F03%2F0324fire2.jpg)
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