The Experts below are selected from a list of 11466 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Robert L. Clark - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Retiree health insurance and the retirement plans of college and university faculty
The Journal of Retirement, 2015Co-Authors: Robert L. ClarkAbstract:Economists conjecture that employer-provided pensions create an incentive for early retirement, in that employees with such pensions can afford to work fewer years and save less. A similar effect might be present with Retiree health insurance (RHI). Relatively few studies of the impact of RHI on retirement and saving decisions have been carried out, however. This article reports on the results of an empirical study, based on a nationwide survey of older university faculty. Its main finding is that the expected age of retirement is not affected by whether or not the faculty member expects to have RHI. This finding may reflect the fact that university faculty tend to retire late, past age 65, at which time they are automatically enrolled in Medicare. The value of RHI is greater when a worker intends to retire well before the age of 65.
-
The effects of Retiree health insurance plan characteristics on Retirees' choice and employers' costs
Journal of Health Economics, 2014Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill, David VanderweideAbstract:To moderate the rate of growth of Retiree health insurance costs, employers can modify plans and move Retirees into less expensive plans. We examine policy modifications implemented by the North Carolina State Health Plan. We investigate whether incentives produce the desired plan elections and whether these changes, along with cost shifting, produce the expected reductions in cost growth. Using individual-level administrative data, along with aggregated data on expenditures for Retirees, we estimate the effects of the introduction and subsequent repeal of a Comprehensive Wellness Initiative for non-Medicare eligible Retirees, as well as increases in coinsurance and copayments and the introduction of a premium for all Retirees. Over a third of non-Medicare Retirees shifted into the least generous plan between June 2009 and December 2012. The level effects on annual costs and unfunded accrued liabilities were relatively modest, but growth rates were diminished. Increases in the Retiree premiums reduced the state's projected costs.
-
the effects of Retiree health insurance plan characteristics on Retirees choice and employers costs
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill, David VanderweideAbstract:To moderate the rate of growth of Retiree health insurance costs, employers can modify plans and move Retirees into less expensive plans. We examine policy modifications implemented by the North Carolina State Health Plan. We investigate whether incentives produce the desired plan elections and whether these changes, along with cost shifting, produce the expected reductions in cost growth. Using individual-level administrative data, along with aggregated data on expenditures for Retirees, we estimate the effects of the introduction and subsequent repeal of a Comprehensive Wellness Initiative for non-Medicare eligible Retirees, as well as increases in coinsurance and copayments and the introduction of a premium for all Retirees. Over a third of non-Medicare Retirees shifted into the least generous plan between June 2009 and December 2012. The level effects on annual costs and unfunded accrued liabilities were relatively modest, but growth rates were diminished. Increases in the Retiree premiums reduced projected costs.
-
the effects of Retiree health insurance plan characteristics on Retirees choice and employers costs
2013Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill, David VanderweideAbstract:To moderate the rate of growth of Retiree health insurance costs, employers can modify plans and move Retirees into less expensive plans. We examine policy modifications implemented by the North Carolina State Health Plan. We investigate whether incentives produce the desired plan elections and whether these changes, along with cost shifting, produce the expected reductions in cost growth. Using individual-level administrative data, along with aggregated data on expenditures for Retirees, we estimate the effects of the introduction and subsequent repeal of a Comprehensive Wellness Initiative for non-Medicare eligible Retirees, as well as increases in coinsurance and copayments and the introduction of a premium for all Retirees. Over a third of non-Medicare Retirees shifted into the least generous plan between June 2009 and December 2012. The level effects on annual costs and unfunded accrued liabilities were relatively modest, but growth rates were diminished. Increases in the Retiree premiums reduced projected costs.Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
-
Retiree health plans in the public sector is there a funding crisis
2010Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler MorrillAbstract:Contents: 1. Retirement Benefits in the Public Sector: The Role of Retiree Health Plans 2. The Economics of Retiree Health Insurance Benefits 3. Descriptions of State Retiree Health Plans 4. Funding and Liabilities of State Retiree Health Plans 5. Explaining the Differences in Financial Status of State Retiree Health Plans 6. Retiree Health Plans for Public School Teachers 7. The Future of Public Sector Retiree Health Insurance References
Paul Fronstin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Employment-Based Retiree Health Benefits: Trends in Access and Coverage, 1997-2010
2012Co-Authors: Paul Fronstin, Nevin E. AdamsAbstract:This paper uses recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau to examine recent trends in offer rates for Retiree health benefits, as well as changes to eligibility for coverage and changes to benefits packages. It also examines how the populations of Retirees with Retiree health coverage and workers expecting such coverage have changed between 1997 and 2010. The paper ends with a discussion of what might be next for Retiree health benefits. Key findings include the following:Very few private-sector employers currently offer Retiree health benefits, and the number offering them has been declining. In 2010, 17.7 percent of workers were employed at establishments that offered health coverage to early Retirees, down from 28.9 percent in 1997.Between 1997 and 2010, the percentage of non-working Retirees over age 65 with Retiree health benefits fell from 20 percent to 16 percent.Because employers are under no obligation to provide Retiree health benefits, except to current Retirees who can prove that they were promised a specific benefit, and because (unlike defined benefit pension plans) employers are not under any obligation to pre-fund Retiree health benefits, it is likely that employers will continue to make changes to those programs, especially for future Retirees.Earlier research found little impact of reductions in coverage on Retirees, but that may be because initial changes employers made to Retiree health benefits affected future Retirees as opposed to then-current Retirees. Over time, more and more Retirees have “aged into” those program changes, resulting in the greater impact found in more recent studies.While many employers have dropped Retiree health benefits, especially for future Retirees, most that have continued to offer Retiree health benefits have made changes in the benefit package they offer: raising premiums that Retirees are required to pay, tightening eligibility, limiting or reducing benefits, or some combination of these.Increasing Retiree contributions tops the list of likely future changes: 43 percent of employers say they are very likely to increase the Retirees’ portion of premiums next year, and another 35 percent are somewhat likely to do so.Despite the fact that workers are more likely to expect Retiree health benefits than Retirees are actually likely to have those benefits, the expectations gap is closing: By 2010, 32 percent of workers expected Retiree health benefits, while only 25 percent of early Retirees and 16 percent of Medicare-eligible Retirees had them.Public policymakers face the difficult task of trying to provide solutions for a system that is largely voluntary. As employers view state-based health exchanges as a viable option to Retiree health benefits, they may view their own role in providing health coverage to Retirees as no longer necessary.
-
Employment-based Retiree health benefits: trends in access and coverage, 1997-2010.
EBRI issue brief, 2012Co-Authors: Paul Fronstin, Nevin E. AdamsAbstract: Because employers are under no obligation to provide Retiree health benefits, except to current Retirees who can prove that they were promised a specific benefit, and because (unlike defined benefit pension plans) employers are not under any obligation to pre-fund Retiree health benefits, it is likely that employers will continue to make changes to those programs, especially for future Retirees.
-
The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program: $5 Billion Will Last About Two Years
2010Co-Authors: Paul FronstinAbstract:The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 created a temporary reinsurance program for sponsors of employment-based health plans that provide Retiree health benefits to Retirees who are over age 55 and not yet eligible for the Medicare program. The program provides an 80 percent subsidy for Retiree claims of between $15,000 and $90,000. Congress appropriated $5 billion for the program, which is effective June 1, 2010, and the subsidy will be available through the earlier of Jan. 1, 2014, or the date when the funds are exhausted. One goal of the program is to provide an incentive for employers to maintain Retiree health benefits and assist Retirees with their costs for health coverage. Under the early Retiree reinsurance program, plan sponsors must be able to show that the subsidies were not used to reduce their level of support for the plan. Subsidies can be used to reduce Retiree costs, and sponsors must also show that the subsidies were used to generate savings or had the potential to generate savings. An important question is whether the $5 billion will be exhausted before 2014. This paper finds that if the subsidy were drawn down for all early Retirees and their dependents, $2.5 billion of the $5 billion available would be exhausted in the first year of the program. The $5 billion would last no more than two years and would not be available in 2012 or 2013. The PDF for the above title, published in the July 2010 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another July 2010 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Target-Date Fund Use Over Time.”
-
Retiree Health Benefit Trends Among the Medicare-Eligible Population
2010Co-Authors: Paul FronstinAbstract:This paper examines the prevalence of Retiree health benefits among Medicare-eligible Retirees. It discusses the percentage of Retirees with employment-based Retiree health benefits over the 1994-2008 period. It also examines the trend for individually purchased coverage as a supplement to Medicare. Perhaps the single most-important factor that has affected the availability of health benefits for Retirees through former private-sector employers was a 1990 accounting rule. FAS 106 required companies to record and disclose Retiree health benefit liabilities on their financial statements and triggered many of the changes to Retiree health benefits, most notably the sharp decline in the benefits being offered. GASB Statements No. 43 and 45, which impose new accounting standards on public-sector sponsors of Retiree health benefits, are similar to FAS 106 and will have a similar, if not greater, impact on the financial statements of public-sector entities. As a result of FAS 106 and the rising cost of providing Retiree health benefits, most U.S. private-sector workers will never become eligible for health insurance in retirement through a former employer. Fewer employers are offering health benefits to future Retirees; when those benefits are offered, eligibility criteria are becoming harder to meet; and employer subsidies are disappearing. In 2008, 26 percent of 65-69-year-olds had Retiree health benefits, down from 32 percent in 1994, and the numbers are lower for older Retirees. It is possible that the decline in coverage would have been even larger had it not been for changes in the work status of individuals eligible for Medicare. In 1995, 59 percent of individuals ages 65-69 considered themselves retired, and that fell to 53.6 percent in 2008, while those saying they were working increased from 28 percent in 1995 to 35 percent in 2008.The PDF for the above title, published in the January 2010 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the full text of another January 2010 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Employee Tenure, 2008.”
-
Implications of Health Reform for Retiree Health Benefits
2010Co-Authors: Paul FronstinAbstract:This paper examines how current health reform legislation being debated in Congress will impact the future of Retiree health benefits. The paper also provides background on the impact of private-sector accounting rule changes on the availability of Retiree health benefits since the mid-1990s; the more recent impact of public-sector accounting rule changes on Retiree health benefits in the public sector; the impact on employment-based Retiree health benefits of adding a drug benefit to Medicare; and the potential impact of current health reform legislation on employment-based health benefits for early Retirees and Medicare beneficiaries. In general, the proposals’ provisions will have a mixed impact on Retiree health benefits: In the short term, the reinsurance provisions would help shore up early Retiree coverage and Medicare Part D coverage would become more valuable to Retirees. In the longer term, insurance reform combined with new subsidies for individuals enrolling for coverage through insurance exchanges, the maintenance-of-effort provision affecting early Retiree benefits, increases to the cost of providing drug benefits to Retirees, and enhanced Medicare Part D coverage, would all create significant incentives for employers to drop coverage for early Retirees and drug coverage for Medicare-eligible Retirees. With some exceptions, the House-passed legislation would prohibit employers from changing the benefits offered to Retirees and their beneficiaries once a person has retired. This provision could have a number of different effects: More employers may move toward capping their contributions; employers that want to maintain Retiree health benefits may react by cutting the health benefits of active workers; employers may eliminate Retiree health benefits altogether to avoid being locked into providing a permanent benefit; or they may drop benefits if they think there is no need to provide them.
Jeremy Pickreign - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Retiree health benefits after medicare part d a snapshot of prescription drug coverage
2008Co-Authors: Jon R Gabel, Heidi Whitmore, Jeremy PickreignAbstract:Based on employers’ responses to two national surveys, conducted in late 2005 and early 2007, fears that the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit would “crowd out” existing Retiree health benefits have not been realized. Employers have largely continued offering their prior benefits. The modest increases in the cost of prescription drug coverage over the past year might have contributed to this trend. However, most employers indicate that they will reconsider their current decision if the cost of coverage rises sharply or the Medicare Part D coverage becomes more comprehensive. A small but significant share of private employers reported they were planning to drop Retiree coverage in the next two years for Medicare-eligible Retirees, while others were planning to reduce coverage for new hires and active workers.
-
Trends in Retiree health benefits
Health Affairs, 2002Co-Authors: L. A. Mccormack, Heidi Whitmore, Jon R Gabel, Wayne L. Anderson, Jeremy PickreignAbstract:Based on national surveys of employers from 1988 through 2001 and recent key-informant interviews, this paper examines trends in employer-based Retiree health benefits. We assess trends in the availability of coverage to early and Medicare-eligible Retirees, the cost of coverage, plan choice and enrollment, prescription drug coverage, and recent changes in plan design. During a period of low health care inflation and record prosperity, Retiree coverage declined slightly, unlike the coverage of active workers. Indemnity enrollment remains strong among Retirees, and employers are cautious about Medicare+Choice because of continuing plan withdrawals. Numerous indicators point to a further and accelerating decline in Retiree coverage.
-
Retiree health insurance: recent trends and tomorrow's prospects
Health Care Financ Rev, 2002Co-Authors: L. A. Mccormack, Heidi Whitmore, Jeremy Pickreign, K Hutchison, Jon R Gabel, Nancy D Berkman, Wayne L. Anderson, N. WestAbstract:Using both employer- and beneficiary-level data, we examined trends in employer-sponsored Retiree health insurance and prospects for future coverage. We found that Retiree health insurance has become less prevalent over the past decade, with firms reporting declines in the availability of coverage, and Medicare-eligible Retirees reporting lower rates of enrollment. The future of Retiree health insurance is uncertain. The forces discouraging its growth--rising premium costs, a slower economy, judicial challenges, and an uncertain Medicare+Choice (M+C) program and policy agenda--far outweigh the forces likely to encourage expansion.
-
Trends - Trends in Retiree health benefits
2001Co-Authors: Jeremy Pickreign, Heidi Whitmore, Wayne L. Anderson, Jon Gabel, Lauren MccormackAbstract:Based on national surveys of employers from 1988 through 2001 and recent key-informant interviews, this paper examines trends in employer-based Retiree health benefits. We assess trends in the availability of coverage to early and Medicare-eligible Retirees, the cost of coverage, plan choice and enrollment, prescription drug coverage, and recent changes in plan design. During a period of low health care inflation and record prosperity, Retiree coverage declined slightly, unlike the coverage of active workers. Indemnity enrollment remains strong among Retirees, and employers are cautious about Medicare+Choice because of continuing plan withdrawals. Numerous indicators point to a further and accelerating decline in Retiree coverage. R et iree health benef its provide financial protection for four million Retirees under age sixty-five and for twelve million Medicare-eligible Retirees.1 Employer-based coverage is generally more comprehensive and affordable than is coverage purchased individually. In 1999 annual out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries with Medigap coverage were approximately $3,400, versus $2,200 for those with employer-sponsored supplemental coverage.2 The availability of health insurance is often a critical factor in retirement decisions.3 Retiree coverage for Medicare-eligible persons is closely intertwined with prescription drug coverage. Roughly 40–60 percent of all health care expenses incurred by employers for this population are for prescription drugs, and employer coverage is the source of drug coverage for 46 percent of Medicare beneficiaries with a single source of drug coverage.4 Retiree coverage generally provides better financial protection than do alternative forms of private insurance for drug expenses. In 1998 Medicare beneficiaries with Retiree coverage from an employer paid just 26 percent of their prescription drug expenses out of pocket; beneficiaries who had drug coverage through Medigap and Medicare managed care paid 67 and 40 percent, respectively.5 Hence, any diminution of Retiree coverage means that greater numbers of Medicare beneficiaries will be exposed to the financial risk associated with high prescription drug costs. Rising costs have contributed to a declining percentage of firms offering Retiree coverage.6 Many employers have already instituted an array of incremental cost-savings approaches over the years—increased cost sharing, reduced benefits, and financial incentives to select certain types of plans—so that they can continue offering coverage. Employers impleT r e n d s H E A LT H A F F A I R S ~ V o l u m e 2 1 , N u m b e r 6 1 6 9 ©2002 Project HOPE–The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc. Lauren McCormack is a senior research associate and Wayne Anderson, a research health analyst, at RTI International, a trade name of Research Triangle Institute, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Jon Gabel is vice-president, health systems studies, at the Health Research and Educational Trust in Washington, D.C. Heidi Whitmore is a senior research associate there, and Jeremy Pickreign is a statistician. mented these measures during the 1990s, a period of low health care inflation and record economic growth. As a result of the economic downturn that began in 2001 and double-digit insurance premium increases, employers are facing difficult decisions about whether to continue offering coverage and in what form. The factors that motivate employers to offer coverage to Retirees may not be sufficient to withstand mounting financial pressures. Employers may consider alternative funding arrangements including defined-contribution approaches, but most have been reluctant to adopt these.7 In this paper we examine recent trends in the percentage of firms offering health insurance to Retirees as well as those who have dropped this coverage altogether. We report the costs of coverage to both the employer and the Retiree, including differences between Retirees under and over age sixty-five. We discuss changes in plan choice and employers’ attitudes toward Medicare+Choice (M+C). Finally, we describe the changes employers have made recently and are planning in the near term.
Sita Nataraj Slavov - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
The role of Retiree health insurance in the early retirement of public sector employees
Journal of Health Economics, 2014Co-Authors: John B. Shoven, Sita Nataraj SlavovAbstract:Most government employees have access to Retiree health coverage, which provides them with group health coverage even if they retire before Medicare eligibility. We study the impact of Retiree health coverage on the labor supply of public sector workers between the ages of 55 and 64. We find that Retiree health coverage raises the probability of stopping full time work by 4.3 percentage points (around 38 percent) over two years among public sector workers aged 55-59, and by 6.7 percentage points (around 26 percent) over two years among public sector workers aged 60-64. In the younger age group, Retiree health insurance mostly seems to facilitate transitions to part-time work rather than full retirement. However, in the older age group, it increases the probability of stopping work entirely by 4.3 percentage points (around 22 percent).
-
The Role of Retiree Health Insurance in the Early Retirement of Public Sector Employees
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013Co-Authors: John B. Shoven, Sita Nataraj SlavovAbstract:Most private sector workers with employer-provided health insurance have a strong incentive to continue working until Medicare eligibility in order to maintain group health coverage. However, most government employees have access to Retiree health coverage, which allows them access to group health coverage even if they retire before Medicare eligibility. We study the impact of Retiree health coverage on the probability of stopping work among public sector workers between the ages of 55 and 64. We find that, for state and local government employees, Retiree health coverage raises the probability of stopping work by 5.1 percentage points (around 28 percent) between ages 60 and 64. However, we find no evidence that Retiree health coverage influences state and local employees' decisions to stop work at ages 55-59, or that such coverage has an effect on the probability of stopping work for federal and military employees.
-
The Role of Retiree Health Insurance in the Early Retirement of Public Sector Employees
2013Co-Authors: John B. Shoven, Sita Nataraj SlavovAbstract:Most private sector workers with employer-provided health insurance have a strong incentive to continue working until Medicare eligibility in order to maintain group health coverage. However, most government employees have access to Retiree health coverage, which allows them access to group health coverage even if they retire before Medicare eligibility. We study the impact of Retiree health coverage on the probability of stopping work among public sector workers between the ages of 55 and 64. We find that, for state and local government employees, Retiree health coverage raises the probability of stopping work by 5.1 percentage points (around 28 percent) between ages 60 and 64. However, we find no evidence that Retiree health coverage influences state and local employees' decisions to stop work at ages 55-59, or that such coverage has an effect on the probability of stopping work for federal and military employees.Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
-
Does Retiree Health Insurance Encourage Early Retirement
Journal of public economics, 2013Co-Authors: Steven Nyce, Sita Nataraj Slavov, John B. Shoven, Sylvester J. Schieber, David A. WiseAbstract:The strong link between health insurance and employment in the United States may cause workers to delay retirement until they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. However, some employers extend health insurance benefits to their Retirees, and individuals who are eligible for such Retiree health benefits need not wait until age 65 to retire with group health coverage. We investigate the impact of Retiree health insurance on early retirement using employee-level data from 54 diverse firms that are clients of Towers Watson, a leading benefits consulting firm. We find that Retiree health coverage has its strongest effects at ages 62 through 64. Coverage that includes an employer contribution is associated with a 6.3 percentage point (36.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 62, a 7.7 percentage point (48.8 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 63, and a 5.5 percentage point (38.0 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 64. Conditional on working at age 57, such coverage reduces the expected retirement age by almost three months and reduces the total number of person-years worked between ages 58 and 64 by 5.6 percent.
-
Does Retiree Health Insurance Encourage Early Retirement
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011Co-Authors: Steven Nyce, Sita Nataraj Slavov, John B. Shoven, Sylvester J. Schieber, David A. WiseAbstract:The strong link between health insurance and employment in the United States may cause workers to delay retirement until they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. However, some employers extend health insurance benefits to their Retirees, and individuals who are eligible for such Retiree health benefits need not wait until age 65 to retire with group health coverage. We investigate the impact of Retiree health insurance on early retirement using employee-level data from 64 diverse firms that are clients of Towers Watson, a leading benefits consulting firm. We find that Retiree health coverage has its strongest effects at ages 62 and 63, resulting in a 3.7 percentage point (21.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 62 and a 5.1 percentage point (32.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 63; it has a more modest effects for individuals under the age of 62. A more generous employer contribution of 50 percent or more raises turnover by 1-3 percentage points at ages 56-61, by 5.9 percentage points (33.7 percent) at age 62, and by 6.9 percentage points (43.7 percent) at age 63. Overall, an employer contribution of 50 percent or more reduces the total number of person-years worked between ages 56 and 64 by 9.6 percent relative to no coverage.
Melinda Sandler Morrill - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
The effects of Retiree health insurance plan characteristics on Retirees' choice and employers' costs
Journal of Health Economics, 2014Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill, David VanderweideAbstract:To moderate the rate of growth of Retiree health insurance costs, employers can modify plans and move Retirees into less expensive plans. We examine policy modifications implemented by the North Carolina State Health Plan. We investigate whether incentives produce the desired plan elections and whether these changes, along with cost shifting, produce the expected reductions in cost growth. Using individual-level administrative data, along with aggregated data on expenditures for Retirees, we estimate the effects of the introduction and subsequent repeal of a Comprehensive Wellness Initiative for non-Medicare eligible Retirees, as well as increases in coinsurance and copayments and the introduction of a premium for all Retirees. Over a third of non-Medicare Retirees shifted into the least generous plan between June 2009 and December 2012. The level effects on annual costs and unfunded accrued liabilities were relatively modest, but growth rates were diminished. Increases in the Retiree premiums reduced the state's projected costs.
-
the effects of Retiree health insurance plan characteristics on Retirees choice and employers costs
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill, David VanderweideAbstract:To moderate the rate of growth of Retiree health insurance costs, employers can modify plans and move Retirees into less expensive plans. We examine policy modifications implemented by the North Carolina State Health Plan. We investigate whether incentives produce the desired plan elections and whether these changes, along with cost shifting, produce the expected reductions in cost growth. Using individual-level administrative data, along with aggregated data on expenditures for Retirees, we estimate the effects of the introduction and subsequent repeal of a Comprehensive Wellness Initiative for non-Medicare eligible Retirees, as well as increases in coinsurance and copayments and the introduction of a premium for all Retirees. Over a third of non-Medicare Retirees shifted into the least generous plan between June 2009 and December 2012. The level effects on annual costs and unfunded accrued liabilities were relatively modest, but growth rates were diminished. Increases in the Retiree premiums reduced projected costs.
-
the effects of Retiree health insurance plan characteristics on Retirees choice and employers costs
2013Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill, David VanderweideAbstract:To moderate the rate of growth of Retiree health insurance costs, employers can modify plans and move Retirees into less expensive plans. We examine policy modifications implemented by the North Carolina State Health Plan. We investigate whether incentives produce the desired plan elections and whether these changes, along with cost shifting, produce the expected reductions in cost growth. Using individual-level administrative data, along with aggregated data on expenditures for Retirees, we estimate the effects of the introduction and subsequent repeal of a Comprehensive Wellness Initiative for non-Medicare eligible Retirees, as well as increases in coinsurance and copayments and the introduction of a premium for all Retirees. Over a third of non-Medicare Retirees shifted into the least generous plan between June 2009 and December 2012. The level effects on annual costs and unfunded accrued liabilities were relatively modest, but growth rates were diminished. Increases in the Retiree premiums reduced projected costs.Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
-
Retiree health plans in the public sector is there a funding crisis
2010Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler MorrillAbstract:Contents: 1. Retirement Benefits in the Public Sector: The Role of Retiree Health Plans 2. The Economics of Retiree Health Insurance Benefits 3. Descriptions of State Retiree Health Plans 4. Funding and Liabilities of State Retiree Health Plans 5. Explaining the Differences in Financial Status of State Retiree Health Plans 6. Retiree Health Plans for Public School Teachers 7. The Future of Public Sector Retiree Health Insurance References
-
Retiree Health Plans in the Public Sector - Retiree Health Plans in the Public Sector
2010Co-Authors: Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler MorrillAbstract:While Retiree health plans are a dying benefit in the private sector, all US states and many local governments extend health insurance coverage to their retired employees. This book is the first to thoroughly examine public sector health insurance plans. Retiree Health Plans in the Public Sector provides a detailed description of the current plans offered and compares how they vary across states.
