RETIRED EXECUTIVE

Bill Luerssen and his wife, Susan Small, are well-covered through P&G. Still, he says, "Health care in America is a mess." (Meggan Booker photo) BILL LUERSSEN 59, Montgomery Type of insurance coverage: PPO offered through ex-employer Health coverage premium: $250-$300 a month Family health needs: minimal.

Bill Luerssen is a retired Procter & Gamble executive who says he and his wife, Susan Small, are "ridiculously healthy" and lucky to have solid health benefits.

P&G, long known for its excellent benefits, offers retirees nearly the same medical, dental and vision coverage that active workers get. Retirees are charged relatively modest, monthly co-payments.

Other retirees aren't so lucky. Most don't get retiree health benefits at all. And the percentage of employers that still offers health benefits to Medicare-eligible retirees plummeted from 40 percent in 1993 to 21 percent in 2003, according to the Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans.

"Basically, I'm on the good end of things," Luerssen says. "But I am worried about the whole system holding up. We worry like hell about other folks."

Luerssen says, "Health care in America is a mess and not for simple reasons. Anybody who says they've got a simple solution doesn't understand the problem."

He's worried about Cincinnati losing doctors, about the rising numbers of uninsured people nationwide and about the rising costs of medicine. If things continue this way, only the well-off will be able to get good coverage and prompt service, he says.

He doesn't claim to have a way to fix the system, but he's not satisfied with the status quo.

"The current way is not the best," he says. "While our dear president feels that everything can be done by the private sector, I'm not so sure about that."

More stories from Greater Cincinnati families: Chronically ill or 'ridiculously healthy." Workers, self-employed or retired. Young or old. A spectrum of lifestyles and incomes. But these Greater Cincinnati families share a worry about the cost of health care, now and in the future. SMALL BUSINESS OWNER Risk of going bare vs. impossible costs Harry Tyson started a company after the dot.com bust, but health benefits have been impossible. YOUNG PROFESSIONAL Satisfied for now, unsure about later Though happy with his coverage, Rich Hancock worries as his parents spend more for health care. CHRONIC ILLNESS Insurance changed and bills soared When Lisa James' husband took a new job, it turned into a coverage nightmare. UNION WORKER A strong benefit that may not last Keith Glassmeyer says health-care benefits are the biggest concern among fellow workers. CONCERNED SENIOR No confidence in Medicare reform Betty Stevens joined an HMO in the '90s, and saved money at first. She's now less satisfied. RETIRED EXECUTIVE 'On the good end,' but still worried Bill Luerssen is "ridiculously healthy" and lucky to have solid benefits. Not all retirees are so lucky. • More stories from Greater Cincinnati residents • Add your own story or comment