UPDATE:

Attorneys for Honeywell retirees have filed for an injunction to prevent the company from ending medical coverage.

The request was made before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

EARLIER:

When David Lymangrover retired from Honeywell, he was excited to sail into the golden years, knowing he had a pension and supplemental insurance. The company even covered prescriptions.

"I figured we should be able to live on this," said Lymangrover, of Mishawaka.

The assurance soured on Saturday, when he received a letter from Honeywell.

"I felt like I was on the back of the boat, and they just kicked me off," David said.

Dated April 3, the letter informed retirees Honeywell was cancelling their health coverage on June 30, 2017, after reevaluating its "health care offerings." A Honeywell vice president said the Medigap market "has matured," allowing Medicare-eligible retirees to find "affordable and comprehensive health insurance and prescription drug coverage."

The letter asks retirees to call the Honeywell Retirement Service Center with any questions. Charlotte Lymangrover, David's wife, called the number and spoke to a representative, who confirmed Honeywell had outsourced to a call center to answer questions.

"It's not like we work at a corporation and got our insurance cancelled and can go somewhere else and work. You’re permanently retired," she said.

Their health coverage paid for blood pressure medicine and David's inhalers. At one time, the supplement insurance Honeywell offered picked up the rest of David's operation.

"Cutting (medical and prescription coverage) out now is just detrimental to people’s lives," added Charlotte. "I'm kind of scared because I don’t know what the costs are going to be to us."

David said his Honeywell retiree friends received the same letter.

UAW Local 9 President Todd Treder says the International UAW is investigating the matter. If any retiree has questions, he says to call him at 574-209-2201.

Honeywell released the following statement to NewsCenter 16:

“After thorough review, Honeywell has decided to terminate medical and prescription drug coverage for certain retirees, effective June 30, 2017. We are providing ample time for retirees to review the individual marketplace to identify alternative health insurance options that best suit their needs from a cost and coverage standpoint. State or federally run online marketplaces now provide an opportunity for individuals to purchase medical coverage from private health care insurers, and federal subsidies may be available, depending on household income, to help defray the cost of such coverage. In addition, the individual Medicare supplemental insurance market has matured, providing Medicare-eligible individuals access to affordable and comprehensive health insurance and prescription drug coverage.”

Maria Catanzarite will have more on this story, tonight on NewsCenter 16 at 5:30.