"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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