Virginia – 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 Virginia. More applications are being approved each day.

T. Massey Coal Company, Inc.
A1000 The Rector and Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia
Air Line Pilots Association, International
Alfa Laval Inc
Alleghany Highlands School Division*
Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (f/k/a Foundation Co
Altria Client Services Inc.
Appomattox County School Board*
AREVA INC.
Augusta County Board of Supervisors
Augusta County School Board
Augusta County Service Authority
Bedford County Public Schools
Buckingham County School Board
BVU Authority*
C&O Employees Hospital Association
Campbell County School Board*
Chesapeake Public Schools
Chesterfield County Administrator
Chesterfield County School Board
City of Alexandria Virginia Sanitation Authority
City of Charlottesville
City of Danville
City of Fredericksburg, Virginia
City of Galax
City of Hampton
City of Hopewell
City of Lynchburg
City of Newport News
City of Norfolk
City of Portsmouth
City of Richmond
City of Roanoke
City of Salem*
City of Staunton
City of Staunton School Board
City of Suffolk
City of Virginia Beach
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM)
Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia Benefits Consortium*
County Board of Arlington Virginia
County of Fairfax
County of Henrico, Virginia
County of Loudoun, Virginia
County of Roanoke
County of Rockingham VA
Danville School Board
Dominion Resources, Inc.
Estes Express Lines
Evonik Goldschmidt Corporation
Fairfax County Public Schools
First Community Bancshares, Inc.
Franklin County Public Schools
Galax City of*
Gannett Co., Inc.
General Dynamics Corporation
Gloucester County School Board*
Grayson County School Board
Greene County Public Schools
Halifax County Public Schools
Hampton Roads Sanitation District Commision
Hampton School Board
Hanover County Board of Supervisors
Hanover County School Board
Hauni Richmond Inc*
Henry County Board of Supervisors
Henry County School Board
James City County
Lafarge North America, Inc
Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC
Lee County School Board
Logistics Management Institute
Loudoun County School Board
lronworkers Local 79 Health Fund
Luxury-Domain, LLC
Lynchburg City Schools
NALC Health Benefit Plan for Employees and Staff
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
National Telecommunications Cooperative Association
Navy Federal Credit Union
Newport News Public Schools
Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority
Norfolk Southern Corporation
NTELOS Inc.
NVR, Inc.
Old Dominion Transit Management Co. d/b/a GRTC Transit system
Operating Engineers Local 147 Health Fund
Patrick County School Board
Pentagon Federal Credit Union*
Pittsylvania County Public School*
Plumbers and Fitters Local 110 Benefit Trust
Plumbers and Fitters Local 540 Medical Benefits Trust Fund
Poquoson city public schools
PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL BOARD
Prince William County Government
Prince William County School Board
Prince William County Service Authority
Rawl Sales & Processing Co.
Reynolds Foil Inc
Richmond Metropolitan Authority
Riverside Management Services, Inc.
Rockingham County School Board
Rolls-Royce Corporation
Rolls-Royce North America Inc.
Russell County School Board
School Board of Frederick Co., VA
School Board of the City of Norfolk
Scott County School Board
Scott County, Va
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, Inc.
Southern States Cooperative, Inc.
Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors*
Spotsylvania County School Board
Stafford County Government
Stafford County Public Schools
STIHL Incorporated
Swedish Match North America Inc.
Tazewell County School Board
Teamsters Joint Council No. 83 of Virginia Health & Welfare Fund
Thales USA, Inc.
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Tidewater Electrical Industry Health Fund
Titan Atlantic Cement Industrial and Commercial SA
Town of Blacksburg*
United Mine Workers of America
Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Inc.
Valley Vocational Technical Center
Virginia Bankers Association Group Benefits Trust
Virginia Beach City Public Schools
Virginia United Methodist Pensions, Inc.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Washington and Lee University
Washington County School Board
Washington Gas Light Company
Waynesboro City Public Schools
Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools*
Winchester School Board
York County School Division

*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.

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