“Seventeen years ago, Association members began tackling health care because we were dissatisfied with repeatedly being told what was on the table were the only solutions available," Rodriguez said. “We decided to try building our own solutions through our Health Care Policy Roundtable, and one of those solutions was Retiree Health Access.” He went on to say, “Note that I said Association members developed this program, driven by the desire for an alternative to the individual market for pre-65 and Medicare-eligible retirees being championed.”
“One thing we don’t do is offer up something that is already on the shelf or otherwise readily available in the marketplace. You don’t need our help finding that," said the Association’s CEO, Dan Yager. "And today we are excited to launch the Retiree Health Access NextGen solution in response to our members' needs for a better retiree benefits strategy and opportunity to reduce the long-term cost and risk of retiree medical coverage."
HR Policy President Tim Bartl talked about how Retiree Health Access fits within the Association’s overall health care agenda and the American Health Policy Institute’s focus on a core set of principles, among which are access, stability, and affordability. Based on a recent Association survey, 50% of those who responded are not satisfied with pre-65 coverage and want to align pre-65 coverage with the coverage available to actives and post-65 retirees. “Retiree medical is having an impact on talent management strategies and cost, with 40% of the working population not believing they can retire until age 70, according to a Harris poll,” Bartl said.
Health Care Policy Roundtable’s President, Colleen McHugh, shared with our members the key features of the Retiree Health Access NextGen program and its 3 primary objectives:
- Better pricing and sustainable products/networks;
- A simple seamless solution for both early and post-65 retirees; and
- A way to achieve financial savings while transferring risk.
Kevin O’Brien from Ivins, Phillips & Barker, a well-known law firm in D.C. that focuses on employee benefits and compensation, also participated in the call. Kevin highlighted the benefits of a retiree medical risk transfer, which is a new feature available within the Retiree Health Access Program and offers a solution for reducing the long-term cost and risk of retiree healthcare.
For more information please contact Colleen McHugh at [email protected].
For more information on Retiree Health Access NextGen, click here.
For a short video highlighting how an employer can make their retiree health care plan sustainable by transferring risk, click here.
