Texas – 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 Texas. More applications are being approved each day.
- Alcon Laboratories, INC.
- Allied Pilots Association
- Alon USA Energy, Inc.
- American Airlines Inc.
- American Heart Association
- American State Financial Corp. et.al.
- Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
- Apache Corporation*
- AT&T Inc
- Atmos Energy Corporation
- Attebury Grain, LLC
- Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Pantex, LLC
- Basell North America, Inc.
- Bexar County Hospital District dba University Health System
- BHP Copper, Inc.
- BHP Hawaii, Inc
- BJ Services Company, U.S.A.
- Boy Scouts of America
- Brazoria County
- Broken Hill Proprietary (USA) Inc.
- Broken Hill Proprietary USA Inc.*
- Brown, Graham & Company, P.C.
- Bruckner Truck Sales
- Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC
- Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation*
- Cal Farley's Boys Ranch
- Cameron County
- CB&I
- Celanese Americas LLC
- CEMEX, Inc.
- CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
- Central Texas Health and Benefit Trust Fund
- Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP*
- CITGO Petroleum Corporation
- City of Abilene
- City of Amarillo, TX
- City of Arlington, Texas
- City of Austin
- City of Baytown
- City of Beaumont
- City of Bedford
- City of Brownsville
- City of Bryan, Texas
- City of Carrollton
- City of Cedar Hill
- City of College Station, TX
- City of Corpus Christi
- City of Dallas
- City of Del Rio
- City of DeSoto
- City of El Paso
- City of Euless
- City of Fort Worth
- City of Garland, Texas
- City of Grand Prairie, Texas
- City of Grapevine
- City of Greenville, Texas
- City of Houston
- City of Huntsville
- City of Hurst, TX
- City of Irving, Texas
- City of Lancaster
- City of Laredo, Texas
- City of Lewisville Health Benefit Trust
- City of Lubbock
- City of McAllen
- City of McKinney
- City of Mesquite
- City of Midland
- City of North Richland Hills, Texas
- City of Odessa
- City of Pearland
- City of Plano, Texas
- City of Port Arthur
- City of Richardson
- City of Rockwall
- City of San Angelo
- City of San Antonio
- City of San Marcos
- City of Tyler
- City of Victoria
- City of Waco
- City of Wichita Falls
- Collegiate Association REsource of the Southwest, Inc
- Collin County Government
- Comerica Incorporated
- Continental Airlines, Inc.
- County of El Paso, Texas
- County of Galveston
- County of Jefferson
- County of Nueces*
- Dallas County
- Dallas County Hospital District*
- Denton County
- Dresser Inc.
- Dresser-Rand Company
- Ector County Hospital District (dba Medical Center Hospital)
- El Paso Corporation
- Electrical Medical Trust
- Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS)
- Enbridge Employee Services, Inc.
- Energy Future Holdings Corp.
- Ericsson Inc,
- Fayez Sarofim & Co.
- Fire and Police Retiree Health Care Fund
- First Victoria National Bank
- Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC
- Fluor Corporation
- Fort Bend County
- Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
- Germania Farm Mutual Insurance Association
- Guadalupe Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
- GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southen Baptist Convention
- H. E. Butt Grocery Company
- Harland Clarke Holdings Corp.
- Harris County
- Harris County Appraisal District
- Harris County Hospital District
- Harrison County
- Hays County*
- Hearst Newspapers Partnership, LP San Antonio Express-News Division*
- Hendrick Medical Center
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- HH Services, LLC
- Hines Interests Limited Partnership
- Holly Corporation
- Houston Refining LP
- Humble City OF
- Hunt Consolidated Inc.
- Huntsman International LLC
- IBEW-NECA Southwestern Health and Benefit Fund
- Interstate Brands Corporation
- Joint Board of Trustees of U.A.P.P. Local 142 Bene
- Kinder Morgan, Inc.
- King Ranch, Inc.
- Leigh Hanson, Inc.
- Lennox International Inc.
- Liberty County
- Lower Colorado River Authority
- Lyondell Chemical Company
- Matagorda General Hospital*
- Maverick Tube Corporation
- Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TX
- Midland County
- Midland County Hospital District
- Millennium America Holdings Inc.
- National Oilwell Varco, L. P.
- NCH Corporation
- Noble Corporation
- North Texas Municipal Water District
- North Texas Tollway Authority
- Pak A Sak, Inc.
- Peoples Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
- Pinkies, Inc.
- Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No.286 Health and Welfare Fund
- Plumbers Local Union No.68 Welfare Fund
- Port Terminal Railroad Association Employee Benefit Plan Trust
- Public Utilities Board of the City of Brownsville,
- R. Lacy Services, Ltd.
- Rio Algom Mining LLC
- Rowan Companies, Inc.
- RRI Energy, Inc.
- Sabre Inc.
- Sammons Corporation
- San Antonio Federal Credit Union
- San Antonio Water System
- Sasol North America Inc.
- Saudi Arabian Oil Company
- Schlumberger Technology Corporation
- Scott and White Memorial Hospital, et al
- Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 54 Welfare Plan
- Shell Oil Company
- Sherwin Alumina LP
- Sky Chefs, Inc.
- Solvay America, Inc.
- South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company
- Southern Methodist University
- Southern Union Company
- Southwest Airlines Co.
- Southwest Research Institute
- Spectra Energy Corp
- Stephens Engineering
- SuperMedia Inc.
- Sysco Corporation
- Tarrant County
- Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- Temple-Inland Inc.
- Tesoro Corporation
- Texas Association of Counties Health and Employee Benefits Pool
- Texas Conference of the Methodist Church Administrative Staff
- Texas Industries, Inc.
- Texas Instruments Incorporated
- Texas Panhandle Mental Health Mental Retardation
- The City of Longview
- The Coteau Properties Company
- The County of Smith
- The Falkirk Mining Company
- The North American Coal Corporation
- The Sabine Mining Company
- The Texas A&M University System
- TMC Group Health & Welfare Plan
- TML Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool
- Total Finance USA, Inc. (Plan Sponsor)
- Town of Flower Mound
- Travis County
- United Services Automobile Association*
- University of Texas at Austin, Office of Acctg.
- Valero Energy Corporation
- Victoria County
- Vinson & Elkins LLP
- Webb County
- Western Builders of Amarillo, Inc.
- WesternGeco Resources, Inc.
- Westlake Chemical Corporation
- William Marsh Rice University
- Zachry Group, LLC
- Zachry Holdings, Inc.
*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.