Are you or a loved one on Medicare? Do you also get supplemental coverage through a retiree plan from a former employer? If so, your situation may change. A new government regulation allows employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.
More than 10 million retirees rely on employer-sponsored health plans as a primary source of coverage, or as a supplement to Medicare. Under the new rule, employers may provide retiree health benefits only to retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare. Likewise, the rule says retiree health benefits can be altered, reduced or eliminated when a retiree becomes eligible for Medicare. Further, employers will be able to reduce or eliminate health benefits provided to the spouse or dependents of a retired worker 65 or over, regardless of whether benefits for the retiree are changed.
Because of rising health care costs and increased life expectancy, if employers had to provide identical benefits for retirees under and over 65, they would probably drop retiree health benefits altogether. This is why the government adopted this new rule.
Source:New York Times
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