Oregon – Early Retiree Reinsurance Program
Rising health care costs have made it difficult for employers to provide quality, affordable health insurance for workers and retirees while also remaining competitive in the global marketplace. The percentage of large firms providing workers with retiree health coverage has dropped from 66 percent in 1988 to 29 percent in 2009.1 Health insurance premiums for older Americans are over four times more expensive than they are for young adults,2 and the deductible these enrollees pay is, on average, almost four times that for a typical employer-sponsored insurance plan.3
The Affordable Care Act creates a new program called the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program to help address this challenge that employers and older employees are facing. The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program provides $5 billion in financial assistance to employers and unions to help them maintain coverage for early retirees age 55 and older who are not yet eligible for Medicare.
Businesses, other employers, and unions that are accepted into the program will receive reimbursement for medical claims for early retirees and their spouses, surviving spouses, and dependents. Savings can be used to reduce employer health care costs, provide premium relief to workers and families, or both. Applicants who are approved into the program receive reinsurance for the claims of high-cost retirees and their families (80 percent of the costs from $15,000 to $90,000). The program ends on January 1, 2014 when State health insurance Exchanges are up and running.
HHS has approved the following sponsors from Oregon. More applications are being approved each day.
- Adidas America, Inc
- Alaska Tanker Company LLC
- Bay Area Hospital
- Beaverton School District
- Blount International
- Blue Heron Paper Company
- Board of Trustees of the Oregon-Washington Carpenters-Employers Health and Welfare Trust Fund
- California Teachers Association Employees' Health & Welfare Benefits Trust
- City County Insurance Services
- City of Bend
- City of Corvallis
- City of Eugene
- City of Grants Pass
- City of Lake Oswego
- City of Oregon City
- City of Portland
- City of Salem
- City of Springfield
- City of West Linn
- Columbia County Oregon*
- Columbia River Fire & Rescue
- Coos County*
- Corvallis School District 509J
- County of Benton Dept of Finance & Taxation
- County of Clackamas, Oregon
- County of Douglas
- County of Jackson
- COUNTY OF LANE SCHOOL DISTRICT 28J
- CROOK COUNTY
- Daimler Trucks North America, LLC
- David Evans Enterprises, Inc.
- Deschutes County
- Detroit Diesel Corporation
- EBA-PGE-IBEW Local Union No.125 Health and Welfare
- Eugene Water & Electric Board
- Glaziers, Architectural Metal and Glass Workers Local Union No 740 Welfare Fund
- Grants Pass School District No. 7
- Harrison Electrical Workers Trust Fund
- Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 36 Health Trust
- INLANDBOATMEN'S UNION OF THE PACIFIC NATIONAL HEALTH BENEFIT TRUST
- Jackson County School District No. 5
- JACKSON COUNTY SD 549C
- Joint Labor Management Retail Trust
- Josephine County Finance Dept, Josephine County Courthouse
- Lane Council of Governments
- Lane County Oregon
- Lane County School District #19
- Lane County School District 52
- Lane Transit District
- Les Schwab Warehouse Center, Inc.
- Local Union 598 Plumbing & Pipefitting Industry Health & Welfare Fund
- Marion County
- McDonald Wholesale Co. Inc.
- Montana Teamsters-Contractors/Employers Trust
- Multnomah County
- NORPAC Foods, Inc.
- North Clackamas School District #12
- Northwest Firefighters Relief Assoc
- Northwest Forest Products Assn Western States Regional Council No
- Northwest Insulation Workers Welfare Trust
- Northwest Natural Gas Company
- Northwest Permanente, P.C.
- Oregon Bakers Union Trust Fund
- Oregon Community Credit Union
- Oregon Educators Benefit Board
- Oregon Health Sciences University
- Oregon Laborers-Employers Health & Welfare Plan
- Oregon Mutual Insurance Company
- Oregon Processors Employees Trust
- Oregon School Boards Association A Corp 203
- Oregon Teamster Employers Trust
- OSU Federal Credit Union
- PacifiCorp
- Polk County School District 13J*
- Portland Area UFCW Local 555 - Employers Health Plan
- Portland General Electric Company
- Rogue Waste Systems, LLC
- Roseburg Forest Products Co.
- SAIF Corporation
- Salem Area Mass Transit District*
- School District #1 Health and Welfare Trust Fund
- Sheet Metal Workers #16 Health Trust
- Special Districts Association of Oregon
- Springfield Utility Board
- Standard Insurance Company
- State of Oregon Public Employees' Benefit Board
- State of Oregon Public Employees Retirement System
- Teamsters 206 Employers Trust
- The Bledsoe Health Tr
- The Corvallis Clinic
- The Port of Portland
- THE REGENCE GROUP
- Three Rivers-Josephone County Unit Joint School District
- Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon
- Tualatin Valley Water District
- United Association Local Union No. 290 Plumber Steamfitter Industry Health and Welfare Plan
- West Coast Bank
- West Linn Willsonville School
- Western Grocers Employee Benefits Trust
- Western States Health & Welfare Trust Fund of the OPEIU
- Yamhill County
*New program participants as of May 24, 2011. List to be updated monthly.
[1] Kaiser / HRET. Employer Health Benefits: 2009 Survey.
[2] Center for Policy and Research. Individual Health Insurance 2009.
[3] Kaiser Family Foundation. 2010. Survey of People Who Purchase Their Own Insurance.