"Reinsurance for Early Retirees (ERRP)" Sec. 1102 found in Obamacare was a program (bailout) that provided $5 Billion in "financial assistance"
for "employers" - businesses, unions, state and local governments plus non-profit organizations - offering health care benefits to their employees. Money for this program was a "bridge" for businesses and individuals after competitive insurance markets (exchanges) became available along with applicable "tax credits" and "subsidies" once law was fully implemented. "Benefits" cover "early retirees," their spouses and dependents as part of their union and some non-union "negotiated benefits" packages. This section basically shifted the cost of these "benefits" onto taxpayers.
SEC. 1102. REINSURANCE FOR EARLY RETIREES.
(1) IN GENERAL.—….Secretary shall establish a temporary reinsurance program to provide reimbursement to participating employment-based plans for a portion of the cost of providing health insurance coverage to early retirees....
(A) HEALTH BENEFITS.—The term ''health benefits'' means medical, surgical, hospital, prescription drug, and such other benefits as shall be determined by the Secretary, of insurance or otherwise.
(B) EMPLOYMENT-BASED PLAN.—The term ''employment-based plan'' means a group health benefits plan that—
(I) maintained by one or more current or former employers (including without limitation any State or local government or political subdivision thereof), employee organization, a voluntary employees' beneficiary association …or
(ii) provides health benefits to early retirees.
(C) EARLY RETIREES.—The term ''early retirees'' means individuals who are age 55 and older but are not eligible for (MEDICARE) coverage under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, and who are not active employees of an employer maintaining, or currently contributing to, the employment based plan….
(e) FUNDING.—There is appropriated to the Secretary, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $5,000,000,000 to carry out the program…
Preferential treatment has been given to large corporations and unions in the form of waivers and exemptions ever since the law passed. HHS encouraged individuals and businesses to apply for all this "free money" and boasted that it "had received applications from more than 50% of the Fortune 500 companies, all major unions, and government entities in all 50 States including the District of Columbia." Statistics below provided by: pewstates, heritage and 5-billion-giveaway.
- Unions received over 80% of the funds dispensed;
- $2.1 billion - governmental entities; $1.3 billion went to 20 state cities, towns, villages, universities, community colleges, libraries and other government entities;
- Verizon - $162 million; AT&T - $213,785,782;
- IBM - $31 million;
- UAW - $387 million; UAW Trust chief financial officer in an HHS video touting program. Sebelius lauded benefits of "free money" in video youtube;
- UAW - General Motors ($19 million), Ford ($7.1 million), Chrysler ($3.3 million), and parts supplier Delphi ($6.1 million) – this is in addition to original taxpayer money (bailout) paid in 2009;
- National Carriers' Conference Committee - $60 million;
- Private universities, medical centers, foundations, a Blue Shield/Blue Cross plan, churches and cooperatives - $9.3 million;
- Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio - $180,084,872;
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters - $16 million;
- United Food and Commercial Workers - $9 million (remember Hostess "twinkee");
- Teacher Retirement System of Texas - $70,629,797
- California Public Employee Retirement System - $131,427,843:
- "Grants" ranging from $155-180 million ;
- Prudential and Johnson & Johnson received sizeable checks; and
- GE received $38,588,701
This administration "lavishes millions in taxpayer dollars on politically savvy corporations and unions" and is a harbinger of more to come. Strange how money appropriated in legislation leaves Washington returning in the form of "campaign contributions" to politicians and more favorable policies.
Public and private employee sponsored "healthcare" and "pension plans" throughout the country are unsustainable and underfunded - plans provided in union contracts to cover "their retirees" pewstates.
THEY NOW WANT TO GIVE MORE MONEY TO INSURANCE COMPANIES? I SAY: "NO MORE!"
A complete list of recipients can be found at buckconsultants,
healthcare,
gao and errp.
Recipients and amount received:
- State of New Jersey Treasury Department $98,606,767
- Commonwealth of Kentucky $95,474,718
- State of New York $88,424,151
- Board of Trustees of North Carolina Teachers' and State Employees' Comprehensive Major Medical Plan $87,462,204
- State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio $78,693,323
- State of
Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System $64,379,629
- National Carriers' Conference Committee $60,016,187
- Georgia Department of Community Health $57,936,127
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts $51,311,601
- Boeing Company $50,160,905
- State of Michigan $46,936,210
- Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. $42,438,274
- United Parcel Service of America, Inc. $37,394,549
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania $32,192,146
- Public Education Employees Health Insurance Fund—Alabama $32,040,120
- Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) $30,175,627
- State of Alaska Retirement and Benefits Plans $27,637,600 0.6%
- South Carolina Budget & Control Board, Employee Insurance Program $27,142,502
- Arizona State Retirement System $19,977,697
- Department of Finance and Administration—Mississippi $19,890,691
- Oregon Educators Benefit Board $19,446,347
- Boeing Company $50,160,905
- Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. $42,438,274
- General Motors LLC $31,282,424
- IBM $30,963,516
- Deere & Company $28,083,767
- Delta Air Lines, Inc. $27,309,420
- American Airlines Inc. $24,260,058
- Qwest Communications International Inc. $23,584,496
- Pfizer Inc. $23,001,263
- Caterpillar Inc. $20,335,732
- Procter & Gamble $19,186,151
- Alcoa Inc. $17,404,025
- Ford Motor Company $17,290,036
- Dow Chemical Company $16,255,671
- BP Corporation $16,179,320
- E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company $15,401,279
- National Carriers' Conference Committee $60,016,187
- Wisconsin Education Association Insurance Trust $33,459,558
- SISC III Health & Welfare $27,492,509
- Trustees of the Central States, SE & SW Areas H&W Fund—Illinois $22,716,745
- Joint Plan Committee—Delaware $14,803,314
- Steelworkers Health and Welfare Fund $12,503,419
- Maine
Education Association Benefits Trust $8,862,203
- UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust $8,825,664
- Boilermakers National Health and Welfare Fund $7,668,334
- National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Welfare Fund Joint Board of Trustees $6,956,390
- Michigan Conference of Teamsters Welfare Fund $6,040,715
- Chicago District Council of Carpenters Welfare Fund $5,164,412
- Pension, Hospitalization and Benefit Plan of the Electrical Industry $4,920,494
- Governing Committee—Delaware $4,600,801
- SEIU National Benefit Fund for Health and Human Service Employees $4,359,989
- Management–Ila Managed Health Care Trust Fund $4,291,264
- Insurance and Benefits Trust of Peace Officers Research Association of California $3,207,969
- Screen Actors Guild–Producers Health Plan $3,049,896
- Midwest Operating Engineers Welfare Fund $2,999,218
Nonprofit recipients:
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan $3,713,920
- Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. $948,844
- President and Fellows of Harvard College $929,113
- Independence Blue Cross $746,570
- Yale University $713,799
- Trustees of Princeton University $706,165
- Duke University $604,797
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology $481,345
- New York University $454,544
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