Florida – 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 Florida. More applications are being approved each day.
- Alachua County Board of County Commissioners
- Alachua County School Board
- American Automobile Association, Inc.
- American Maritime Officers
- Anchor Glass Container Corporation
- Archdiocese of Miami
- Baker County School Board
- Bay County School Board
- Bay County Sheriffs Department
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
- Board of County Commissioners Clerk of the Circuit Court
- Board of County Commissioners Nassau County
- Bradford County School District
- Brevard Community College
- Brevard County Board of County Commissioners
- Brevard County Public Schools
- Broward College
- Broward County Board of County Commissioenrs
- Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc.
- Carlton Fields, P.A.
- Celotex Corporation
- Charlotte County Board of Commissioners
- Chipola College
- Citrus County School Board
- Citrus Memorial Health Foundation, Inc.
- City of Boca Raton
- City of Boynton Beach
- City of Clearwater
- City of Delray Beach
- City of Dunedin*
- City of Ft Luaderdale - Office of Finance Director
- City of Hialeah
- City of Hollywood, Florida
- City of Jacksonville FL
- City of Lake City
- City of Lakeland
- City of Largo
- City of Lauderhill
- City of Leesburg*
- City of Maitland
- City of Margate, Florida
- City of Melbourne
- City of Miami
- City of Miami Beach office of Finance Director*
- City of Miramar
- City of Mount Dora
- City of Naples
- City of Ocala, Florida
- City of Ocoee
- City of Orlando
- City of Palatka
- City of Panama City
- City of Pembroke Pines
- City of Pensacola*
- City of Pinellas Park
- City of Plantation*
- City of Port St. Lucie
- City of Sarasota Office of Accounting
- City of St. Petersburg
- City of Starke Office of City Clerk
- City of Sunrise
- City of Tamarac
- City of Tampa Florida Risk Management
- City of Titusville
- City of Venice
- City of Winter Haven, FL
- City of Winter Park
- Clay County BOCC (Clay County Board of County Commisioners
- Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Clerk and Comptroller of Palm Beach County
- College of Central Florida District Board of Trustees
- Collier County Board of Commissioners
- Collier County Sheriff's Office
- Coral Gables Fraternal Order of Police Health Trust
- County of Broward Office of the Sheriff*
- County of Columbia Board County Commissioners
- County of DeSoto Board of Pub Instruction
- County of Escambia
- County of Hardee Board of Pub Instruction
- County of Monroe Board of Public Instruction
- County of Pinellas Board of County Commissioners
- County of Santa Rosa Board of Public Instruction
- County of Santa Rosa, Florida*
- County of Suwannee
- Crowley Holdings, Inc
- CSX Corporation
- Dade County Fire Fighters Insurance Trust Fund
- Darden Restaurants, Inc.
- Dist School Board of Clay County
- District Board of Trustees, South Florida Community College
- District School Board of Pasco County
- Duval County Public Schools
- Duval County School Board Comptrollers Office
- Eckerd College Inc.
- Edison State College
- Escambia County Board of County Commissioners
- Firefighters of Boca Raton, Local 1560 IAFF
- Florida Firefighters Insurance Trust Fund
- Florida Gateway College (formerly Lake City Community College)
- Florida Health Sciences Center Inc. dba Tampa General Hospital
- Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
- Florida Keys Community College
- Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association, Inc
- Florida Keys Mosquito Control District
- Florida Municipal Insurance TR
- Florida State College at Jacksonville*
- Fort Pierce Utilities Authority
- Fraternal Order of Police Fort Lauderdale Lodge 31 Insurance Trust Fund
- Fraternal Order of Police-Miami Lodge 20 Insurance Trust Fund
- G.M.P. - Employers Retiree Trust
- Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc.
- Greater Orlando Aviation Authority
- Gulf Coast Community College
- Gulf County School Board
- Halifax Staffing, Inc.
- Harris Corporation
- Hernando County Board of County Commissioners
- Highlands County Board of County Commissioners
- Highlands County School Board
- Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners
- Holmes County School Board
- Hydro Aluminum Adrian, Inc.
- Independent Colleges and Universities Benefits Association
- Indian River State College
- Jackson County School District
- JEA
- Lake County Board of County Commissioners
- Lake County Sheriff's Office
- Lake Sumter Community College
- Lee County Board of County Commissioners
- Lee County School Board
- Marion County Board of County Commissioners
- Martin County Florida Trade Name: Board of Commissioners
- Martin County School District
- Martin County Sheriff's Office
- Martin Memorial Health Systems, Inc.
- Medical Center Radiology Group
- Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police Health Trust Fund
- Miami Dade College
- Miami-Dade County
- NECA-IBEW Local 1205 Family Benefit Fund
- New World Leather Corp*
- NextEra Energy, Inc.
- NGM Insurance Company
- North Broward Hospital District d/b/a Broward Heal
- North Florida Community College
- Northwest Florida State College
- Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners
- Okaloosa Gas District*
- Okeechobee County School Board
- Orange County Government Board of County Commissioners
- Orange County Library Board of Trustees
- Orange County School Board
- Orlando Health
- Orlando Utilities Commission
- Osceola County Board Of County Commissioners
- Osceola County Sheriff's Office
- Palm Beach Community College
- Palm Beach County Firefighters Employee Benefits Fund
- Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office
- Palm Beach County, Florida
- Pasco County Sheriff's Office*
- Pasco Hernando Community College
- Pensacola Junior College
- PGA TOUR, Inc.
- Pinellas County Public School District
- Polk County Board of County Commissioners
- Polk County School Board
- Polk State College
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Public Risk Management of Florida
- Putnam County Board of County*
- Ryder System Inc.
- Saint Lucie County School District
- Santa Fe College
- Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners
- School Board of Nassau County
- School Board of Sarasota County, Florida
- School District of Collier County Florida
- School District of Columbia County Florida
- School District of Hillsborough County AKA Hillsborough County Public Schools
- School District of Indian River County
- School District of Manatee County
- School District of Palm Beach County
- Seminole County BCC
- Seminole County Public Schools
- Seminole County Sheriff's Office
- Seminole State College of Florida
- Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc.
- St Johns River Junior College
- St Lucie County Fire District Employees' Health an
- St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners
- St. Johns County School District
- St. Johns River Water Management District
- St. Lucie County
- St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office
- State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota
- State of Florida Department of Management Services
- Stetson University, Inc.
- Sumter County Board of County Commissioners
- Sumter County School Board
- Suwannee River Water Management District
- Tallahassee Community College
- TECO Energy Inc
- The City of Stuart
- The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church
- The School Board of Broward County, Florida
- The School Board of Marion County, Florida
- The School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida
- The School District of Escambia County
- The School District of Osceola County
- The St. Joe Company
- The Wackenhut Corporation (TWC)
- Town of Jupiter
- Town of Lantana
- Town of Medley
- Town of Palm Beach
- Tupperware Brands Corporation
- U.S. Epperson Underwriting Company
- University of Miami
- Utility Board of the City of Key West, FL d/b/a Keys Energy Services
- Valencia Community College
- Volusia County School Board
- West Orange Healthcare District
- West Palm Beach Firefighters Benefit Fund*
*New program participants as of May 24, 2011. List to be updated monthly.