Once you get past the hyperbolic (and somewhat inaccurate) headline — “Duke Energy becomes latest employer to stop insuring retirees” — you learn from this News & Observer story that the giant public utility is joining the array of companies that are using a private health exchange to manage the medical insurance costs of its retirees.
Rather than picking up the costs of retiree health benefits that are over and above those covered by Medicare, Duke has contracted with United Healthcare and will give retirees a stipend to choose a supplemental Medicare plan from the menu United Healthcare offers. Duke isn’t ending its health care support for retirees; it’s letting a company that specializes in health insurance handle the job.
As CJ’s Dan Way reported earlier this week, IBM, Time Warner, and Darden restaurants also have embraced private exchanges. And, Dan’s reporting noted, other private employers may look into private exchanges to handle medical coverage rather than become ensnared in the costly bureaucratic nightmare that Obamacare threatens to become.
