Obama's health care law created a $5 billion fund to shore up coverage for early retirees, and some of that money is flowing to places you might not expect.
Two Texas public employee programs are among the top 25 recipients of the federal subsidy despite Texas Gov. Rick Perry's opposition to the law Republicans derisively call "Obamacare."
And records show the Huntsman family business, where GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman sharpened his executive skills, received about $1 million.
Employer-sponsored health insurance for retirees has been shriveling for years, ever since companies were required to report the estimated liability to investors. Democrats who wrote the new law wanted to provide an incentive for employers to keep offering coverage. Only about 6 percent of private companies currently offer such a benefit for early retirees, according to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.
But that still works out to more than 400,000 companies. Add state and local government agencies, as well as union plans, and the number swells. Indeed, the Obama administration's subsidy program got so many applications it stopped accepting new ones after approving more than 6,000. The program pays 80 percent of the claims amount for early retirees ages 55 to 64 whose care costs between $15,000 and $90,000.
The top beneficiary: the United Auto Workers retiree medical plan, which has collected more than $220 million.
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas, a statewide system for public education employees, received more than $70 million as of Sept. 22, according to the federal Health and Human Services Department. The Employees Retirement System of Texas, which covers state employees, received about $30 million.
The calculations by Enzi's staff also list AT&T, Verizon, General Electric, General Motors, Qwest, Caterpillar and other private companies in the top 25, not to mention the two Texas state programs. AT&T received $157 million.
Several media companies are also benefiting. The Associated Press, a nonprofit news-gathering service owned by the nation's newspapers, has received $191,888.
Back in Texas, public and private employer retiree plans have collected more than $326 million from the subsidy. They range from American Airlines to Texas A&M University — Perry's alma mater.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/11/03/us/politics/AP-US-Cashing-in-on-Obamacare.html?ref=news
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