Wednesday, 11 July 2007
HR Policy Association And Aetna Offer Health Coverage For Early Retirees
In the United States, some 800,000 workers between the ages of 55 and 64 retire early — and become uninsured. When they retire, they are ineligible for employer-sponsored coverage and are too young for Medicare coverage.
The HR Policy Association has designed the Retiree Health Access program, which provides affordable health insurance for early retirees. Coverage will be administered by Aetna, and will be included in the workers’ employer-sponsored plan.
But the coverage will cost “relatively little for employers,” said Aetna’s executive vice president, Mark Bertolini, to the New York Times.
Depending on the amount an employer would like to contribute, health plans will have a deductible of $500 to $1,000 — and a monthly premium of $400 to $1,200. Anyone eligible for coverage won’t be turned down regardless of their health conditions.
The program isn’t expected to make a huge dent in the number of uninsured recent retirees when it starts in 2008, but the HR Policy Association hopes many of the 250 employers they represent will eventually participate.
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