Press Release :: First Round of Employers Approved to Join Early Retiree Reinsurance Program

Image via WikipediaWASHINGTON, DC – Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) and Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA), praised today's announcement that nearly 2,000 employers have already signed up and been approved for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program in the health reform law.

“The goal of Health care reform is to make insurance affordable and accessible, including by helping employers currently offering insurance,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin (D-MI). “In recent years economic pressures and escalating health care costs have made it increasingly difficult for employers to maintain health coverage for retirees not yet eligible for Medicare. I am pleased that, because of health reform, nearly 2,000 small businesses, unions, or fortune 500 companies who provide early retiree health coverage will receive assistance to ensure that retired workers have health insurance for their critical health needs.”

"As employers continue to drop retiree health benefits, early retirees have become extremely vulnerable to losing their insurance. At the same time, these older Americans are the least likely to find affordable coverage in the individual market,” said Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA)."Health reform provides new financial assistance to employers who maintain their retiree health benefits. Two thousand employers have already signed up to obtain this help. This early retiree assistance program is yet another way that health reform is making people's health coverage more secure now."

The Affordable Care Act created the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program to provide financial assistance to employers to help them continue coverage for early retirees. Employers who are approved to participate in the program receive reinsurance for the claims of high-cost retirees and their families. These funds can be used to provide relief to retirees, workers and their families, in the form of lower premiums and cost sharing.

For more information, including a list of employers who have been approved for this program, please visit: http://go.usa.gov/c6bb