Ohio – Early Retiree Reinsurance Program

Rising health care costs have made it difficult for employers to provide quality, affordable health insurance for workers and retirees while also remaining competitive in the global marketplace. The percentage of large firms providing workers with retiree health coverage has dropped from 66 percent in 1988 to 29 percent in 2009.¹ Health insurance premiums for older Americans are over four times more expensive than they are for young adults,² and the deductible these enrollees pay is, on average, almost four times that for a typical employer-sponsored insurance plan.³

The Affordable Care Act creates a new program called the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program to help address this challenge that employers and older employees are facing.  The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program provides $5 billion in financial assistance to employers and unions to help them maintain coverage for early retirees age 55 and older who are not yet eligible for Medicare.

Businesses, other employers, and unions that are accepted into the program will receive reimbursement for medical claims for early retirees and their spouses, surviving spouses, and dependents. Savings can be used to reduce employer health care costs, provide premium relief to workers and families, or both. Applicants who are approved into the program receive reinsurance for the claims of high-cost retirees and their families (80 percent of the costs from $15,000 to $90,000). The program ends on January 1, 2014 when State health insurance Exchanges are up and running.

HHS has approved the following sponsors from Ohio. More applications are being approved each day.

• 4th District IBEW Health Fund
• Schulman, Inc.,
• AAA Miami Valley
• ABX Air, Inc.
• AK Steel Corporation
• American Electric Power Service Corporation
• American Financial Group, Inc.
• American Greetings Corporation
• Asbestos Workers Local No 3 Health and Welfare Fund
• Bard Manufacturing Company Inc.
• Battelle Memorial Institute
• Board of Trustees Canton Electrical Welfare Fund
• Board of Trustees for the Building Laborers Local 310 Health & Welfare
• Board of Trustees for the Iron Workers Local 17 Insurancce Benefit Plan
• Board of Trustees Insulators Local 84 Health Care Plan
• Board of Trustees of Ohio Conference of Teamsters & Industry
• Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
• Canton Drop Forge Inc
• Carpenters Health Fund of West Virginia
• Chart Industries, Inc.
• Cincinnati Bell Inc.
• City of Cincinnati*
• Cleveland Automobile Dealers' Association
• Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund
• Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Cleveland Newspaper Publishers Union Local 473 Wel
• Cliffs Mining Co, Managing Agent of Hibbing Joint Venture
• Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc.
• Cliffs North American Coal LLC
• cognis corporation
• Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc.
• Convergys Corporation
• Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
• Dana Non-Union Retiree VEBA Trust
• Dealer Computer Services, Inc. d/b/a The Reynolds and Reynolds Comp
• Directions Research, Inc.*
• DTR Industries Inc*
• East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church
• Eaton Corporation
• Eaton Corporation
• Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
• Empire Iron Mining Partnership
• Excavating & Building Material Drivers Union Local #436
• Faurecia Exhaust Systems, Inc.
• Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati
• Ferro Corporation
• Fifth Third Bancorp
• First Citizens Banc Corporations
• FirstEnergy Corp
• FirstMerit Corporation
• Health & Welfare Fund of Teamsters Union Local N0 73
• Highway Patrol Retirement System
• Honda of America Mfg., Inc.
• Horizon Telcom, Inc
• IBEW Local 82
• IBEW Local No. 212 Health and Welfare Fund
• IBEW-648 Health and Welfare Fund
• Insulators Local 45 Health Care Plan
• International Brotherhood Of Elec Workers 683 Health & Welfare Fund*
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 129 Health and Welfare Fund
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 38 Health and Welfare Fund
• Iron Workers District Council of Southern Ohio & Vicinity Benefit Trust
• John Maneely Company
• Jones Day
• Kao America Inc.
• Kenyon College
• KeyCorp
• Lake Hospital System
• Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad Company
• Libbey Inc.
• Licking Rural Electrfication, Inc.
• Lima Area Local No. 776 Health and Welfare Plan and Trust
• Macy's, Inc.
• Mahoning and Trumbull County Building Trades Welfare Trust Fund
• Major League Baseball Players Welfare Plan
• Marathon Oil Company
• Marathon Petroleum Holdings LLC*
• Marietta Memorial Hospital
• Marlite, Inc.
• Medical Mutual of Ohio
• Mettler-Toledo, Inc.
• MI 363 Bid LLC*
• Moen Incorporated
• Motorists Mutual Insurance Company
• Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
• NewPage Corporation
• NewPage Wisconsin System, Inc.
• Nordson Corporation
• Northshore Mining Company
• Northwestern Ohio Plumbers and Pipefitters
• Novelis Corporation
• Oberlin College
• Ohio Bankers Benefits Trust
• Ohio Bricklayers' Health & Welfare Plan
• Ohio Carpenters' Health Fund
• Ohio Conference of Plasterers & Cement Masons Health & Welfare Fund
• Ohio Education Association
• Ohio Laborers' District Council - Ohio Contractors' Association Insurance
• OHIO OPERATING ENGINEERS HEALTH & WELFARE PLAN
• Ohio Valley Electric Corporation
• Ormet Corporation
• Overlook Mutual Homes INC*
• OVERLOOK MUTUAL HOMES, INC
• Owens Corning
• Owens-Illinois Inc.
• Painting Industry Insurance Fund
• Park National Corporation
• Parker Hannifin Corp
• PCC Airfoils, LLC
• Pilkington North America, Inc.
• PIPE FITTERS #120 INSURANCE FUND
• Plumbers & Pipefitters L. 219
• Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 189 Health & Welfare Fund
• Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 94 Health & Welfare Plan
• Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 42 Health & Welfare Trust Fund
• Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union No. 396 Health & Welfare Fund
• Plumbers and Steamfitters Local No. 521 Health and Welfare Fund
• Plumbers Union Local 55 Health & Welfare
• Plumbers, Pipe Fitters & MES Local Union No 392 Health & Welfare Fund
• Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
• Preformed Line Products Company
• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio
• Refrigeration Sales Corporation of Cleveland
• RMI Titanium Company
• Robbins & Myers, Inc.
• Rocky Brands, Inc.
• School Employees Retirement System of Ohio
• Severstal Warren, Inc
• Sheet Metal Workers Intl Assoc. of Dayton OH Local Union 224
• Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 Youngs District Healt
• Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 110 Health Fund
• Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 24 Greater Cincinnat
• Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 33 Cleveland District Health Benefits Fund
• Southwest Ohio District Council of Carpenters Health & Welf Fund-DA
• State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company
• State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio
• STERIS Corporation
• Teamsters Health & Welfare Fund Local 377
• Teamsters Local Union #348 Health & Welfare Fund
• Teamsters Local Union No.20 Insurance and Health W
• Teamsters Union Local No 92 Health and Welfare Fund TR
• Teamsters Union Local No. 52 Health & Welfare Fund
• The  IAM Local 2848 Ford Retirees VEBA Trust*
• The Andersons, Inc.
• The David J. Joseph Company
• The Dispatch Printing Company
• The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
• The Gorman-Rupp Company
• The House of LaRose,lnc.
• The IBEW Local 1377 Eligible Ford Retirees VEBA Trust*
• The J.M. Smucker Company
• The Kroger Co.
• The Lubrizol Corporation
• The Minster Machine Company
• The Ohio Automobile Club (DBA AAA Ohio Auto Club)
• The Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund
• The Ohio Valley Coal Company
• The Procter & Gamble Company
• The Pulaski Rubber Co. - wholly owned subsidiary Of R.C.A. Rubber Co.
• The R.C.A. Rubber Company
• The Scotts Company LLC
• The Sherwin-Williams Company
• The Timken Company
• The University of Akron
• The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company
• Tilden Mining Company L.C.
• TMW Systems Solutions Inc*
• Toledo Electrical Welfare Fund
• Toledo Newspaper Union - Blade Health and Welfare
• UFCW Local Unions & Employers Benefit Plan of SW Ohio Area
• UFCW Union-Employee Health & Welfare Fund
• UFCW Unions'and Employers' Health and Welfare Plan of Central Ohio
• Union Construction Workers Health Plan
• Union of Roofers Waterproofers & Allied Workers Local #44 Welfare Fund
• United Taconite LLC
• University of Cincinnati
• Western Reserve Farm Cooperative, Inc.
• Western Reserve Mutual Casualty Co*
• White Castle System, Inc.
• Wittenberg University
• Youngstown Area Electrical Welfare Fund Trustees

*New program participants as of May 24, 2011.  List to be updated monthly.

^[1] Kaiser / HRET. Employer Health Benefits: 2009 Survey.
^[2] Center for Policy and Research. Individual Health Insurance 2009.
^[3] Kaiser Family Foundation. 2010. Survey of People Who Purchase Their Own Insurance.

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