Obama Promised Employers Would See Cost Savings Under ObamaCare. OBAMA: “Americans who get their insurance through the workplace, cost savings could be as much as $3,000 less per employer than if we do nothing.”(President Barack Obama, Remarks At George Mason University, Arlington, VA, 3/19/10)

As Health Care Costs Continue To Rise, Employers Are Shifting Its Retirees To Other Plans

IBM Will “Move About 110,000 Retirees Off Its Company-Sponsored Health Plan.” “International Business Machines Corp. IBM plans to move about 110,000 retirees off its company-sponsored health plan and instead give them a payment to buy coverage on a health-insurance exchange, in a sign that even big, well-capitalized employers aren’t likely to keep providing the once-common benefits as medical costs continue to rise.” (Spencer Ante, “IBM To Move Retirees Off Health Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/7/13)

• The Rising Cost Of Health Care Made IBM’s “Current Plan Unsustainable Without Big Premium Increases.” “The move, which will affect all IBM retirees once they become eligible for Medicare, will relieve the technology company of the responsibility of managing retirement health-care benefits. IBM said the growing cost of care makes its current plan unsustainable without big premium increases.” (Spencer Ante, “IBM To Move Retirees Off Health Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/7/13)

Over 300 Companies Have Made The Shift, Including Sears And Darden Restaurants.  “The pace has picked up recently, with IBM among a growing number of large, successful companies that are moving retirees to exchanges. Extend Health said it has signed up about 300 companies, including large corporations such as DuPont Co. and Caterpillar Inc. … The approach was adopted last year by Sears Holdings Corp. and Darden Restaurants Inc.” (Spencer Ante, “IBM To Move Retirees Off Health Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/7/13)

• Dupont And Caterpillar Shifted It’s Retirees From The Company’s Health Plan. “DuPont began using the Extend Health exchange for Medicare-eligible retirees in January. The move was done to stabilize costs and simplify administration of retiree-health benefits, said a DuPont spokeswoman. A Caterpillar spokeswoman said the company has been an Extend Health client since 2009.” (Spencer Ante, “IBM To Move Retirees Off Health Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/7/13)

• Time Warner Also Chose To Moves Its Retirees From The Company Health Plan. “The latest indication: Media-company Time Warner Inc. plans to move its U.S. retirees from company-administered health plans to private exchanges, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company will allocate funds in special accounts that retirees can use to go shop for coverage, the person said.” (Spencer Ante, “Time Warner Joins IBM In Health Shift For Retirees,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/8/13)