Early retirees get health boost

Specialists predict President Obama’s health overhaul will accelerate the decline of employer-sponsored retiree coverage in the long run, by making it easier for people to find affordable coverage on their own, as well as improving Medicare benefits.

Starting in 2014, the health care law forbids insurers from denying coverage to people with medical problems, limits what the companies can charge older individuals, and sets up competitive health insurance markets where consumers can buy a policy, in many cases with direct government assistance. Early retirees will have options they don’t currently enjoy.

“Employers have been offering these benefits because there is no alternative source of coverage,’’ said economist Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute. “I think they’re going to be asking themselves why they should continue offering retiree coverage.’’

Preventing employers from rushing to the exits now is one of the main goals of the new subsidy program, authorized under the health care overhaul law. Among employers with 500 or more workers, only 28 percent offer health benefits to early retirees, down from 46 percent in 1993, according to Mercer, a benefits consulting firm.

“This is going to be a welcome reform for many businesses that are trying to do the right thing by their retirees, and for the retirees themselves,’’ Obama said yesterday to a business group.

Under the program, employers can get reimbursed for up to 80 percent of the cost of medical claims between $15,000 and $90,000 for their early retirees. The money can be used to reduce premiums for retirees and their dependents, or by employers to keep their own costs in check. The benefit takes effect June 1.