Opinion: More Americans Are Keeping their Coverage under Affordable Care Act

By Steve Larsen, CCIIO Director

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, teachers in Montana will have the comfort of knowing that their health insurance will be there for them when they retire.
Retirement is supposed to be your “golden years.” But in the current economic downturn, many retirees are struggling to make ends meet. This can be a particular challenge for early retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare.
Early retirees – those between the ages of 55 and 64 – can face some of the highest costs trying to purchase coverage in the individual health insurance market. And employers are struggling to continue to afford to health insurance for their retirees.
The Affordable Care Act is already working to help those retirees and employers through the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. This program provides a total of $5 billion in financial assistance to sponsors of employment based health plans to help them maintain coverage for early retirees and their spouses, surviving spouses, and dependents. Read about how the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program helped this early retiree in Pennsylvania.
Today, we announced that a total of 5,000 companies, small governments, non-profits and other employers have been accepted into the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program – an increase of 1,400 since October 28, 2010.
One of those organizations accepted into this program is the Montana Unified School Trust – which provides cost-effective health benefits to many employees in school districts and school-related organizations across Montana. Many school districts were accepted into the program, including seven each in Michigan and Idaho, nine in Wisconsin, and 24 in Missouri.
Through the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program, the Montana Unified School Trust is going to get help covering the cost of care for early retirees with very high medical bills. This financial help is going to translate into direct benefits for all former school employees and their families enrolled in the insurance plan. The Trust is planning to use the dollars to help keep premiums down as well as invest in the long-term stability of the plan.
Other local governments and service providers will receive help – including the Tulsa Firefighters in Oklahoma and the Santa Ana Police Officers in California. In Florida, Broward County and two cities joined the 84 local and state government entities in that state already accepted into the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program.
The result? Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, more and more Americans who are relying on health coverage from their former employers will have the peace of mind that their coverage will continue to be there for them and their families if they need it. And employers will know they can keep the promise of health coverage to those former employees.