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| Medicare: Retiree Benefits | | |
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2006 Kaiser/Hewitt Retiree Health Benefits Survey The 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt Retiree Health Benefits Survey documents the rising costs of retiree benefits for large private-sector employers and their retirees, looking at benefits, cost-sharing and other changes. It also provides information on employers' evolving strategies to respond to the Medicare drug law and its subsidies for employers that continue to provide drug coverage to Medicare-eligible retirees. | | |
| | Medicare: Retiree Benefits Employer-sponsored health plans play a critical role in filling gaps in health insurance coverage for retirees. For workers who retire in their late fifties or early sixties—before they are eligible for Medicare—employer-sponsored plans offer access to health insurance coverage that retirees may otherwise have difficulty obtaining. For those age 65 and older, employer-sponsored health plans are a vital source of insurance that supplements Medicare by assisting with cost-sharing requirements and paying for benefits that are not covered by Medicare, especially prescription drugs. Employer health plans provide needed coverage to retirees at a time in their lives when they are most likely to face medical problems and need health care that can be prohibitively expensive without the financial protection offered by health insurance.
Over the past decade, however, there has been a steady erosion of retiree health insurance benefits that threatens, in the future, to increase the number of early retirees who may be uninsured before age 65 and to diminish needed supplemental coverage for retirees with Medicare. Looking to the future, there is concern that the recent downturn in the economy, the weakening of the labor market, and double-digit increases in health care costs may hasten the decline of retiree health benefits. |
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