2,000 health plans approved for early retiree program; reporting in the works

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the first round of nearly 2,000 companies and other organizations approved for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. This is a federal program that was created as part of the health care reform law. The program reimburses employer-sponsored health plans for part of the cost of health benefits for early retirees and their spouses, surviving spouses and dependents. "Early retirees" are people 55 and older who are no longer active employees and are not eligible for Medicare.
This program went into effect June 23, 2010. Accepted companies and other organizations will receive payments retroactive to that date. The program ends on January 1, 2014, or when the $5 billion allocated to the fund runs out. At that time, early retirees should be able to find coverage through the health insurance exchange (another provision of the health care reform law).
See the full list of companies and other organizations approved, including several of our clients.

Getting to the bottom of your health care costs

Did you know: Medical errors cost the United States $19.5 billion in 2008?  

Medical errors and the problems they cause cost the U.S. economy $19.5 billion in 2008, said the Society of Actuaries in its June 2010 study, The Economic Measurement of Medical Errors. Bed sores - considered to be the result of an error - produced the largest annual error cost at almost $3.9 billion, followed by post-op infections at $3.7 billion, device complications at $1.1 billion, complications from failed spinal surgery at $1.1 billion and hemorrhages at $960 million. The study is based on insurance claims data. The study was conducted by Milliman, an actuarial and consulting firm.