Towers Watson and UnitedHealthcare have partnered to develop the Retiree Health Collaborative, a new healthcare coverage solution for retirees and employers.
By pairing the two national firms, the Collaborative will help businesses reduce the financial and administrative burden of offering health coverage while providing Medicare-eligible retirees best in class coverage options.
By shifting management of their retiree medical program to the Collaborative, including plan design, communications, customer service, and health education, employers are able to significantly ease their administrative burdens and associated costs. The assistance of UnitedHealthcare and Towers Watson gives employers full flexibility in benefit design and financial commitment while giving retirees access to a wide array of affordable healthcare options.
“Retiree health programs are costly and complicated, straining company resources in an already difficult business environment,” said Dave Osterndorf, senior health and group benefits actuary at Towers Watson. “Employers have been slow to take advantage of the individual retiree health benefit market and improved purchasing arrangements created by the Medicare Modernization Act, largely due to the complexities of transitioning to, and administrating, these plans on behalf of their retirees. The Retiree Health Collaborative is a new solution that leverages a variety of private Medicare plan alternatives that have evolved over the last four years and provides a framework for continued innovation.”
The Retiree Health Collaborative is currently available to employers with 500 or more retired plan participants. Launched on a limited basis in late 2009, the Collaborative already includes seven organizations from various industries and geographies representing in excess of 25,000 retirees. The Collaborative will continue to evolve with the market, incorporating new products for both pre-Medicare and Medicare retirees and providing additional options for employers and their retirees.
