Towers Watson and UnitedHealthcare have partnered to develop the Retiree Health Collaborative, a new health care coverage solution for retirees and employers. The collaborative seeks to preserve employer-supported retiree health benefits by combining the expertise and services of a leading benefits consultant with the nation’s largest provider of Medicare plans. 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 access to a wide array of coverage options.
The Retiree Health Collaborative offers a simplified and comprehensive approach to employers who want to continue to support their retirees but do not have the time or resources to administer the program themselves. By shifting management of their retiree medical program to the collaborative, including plan design, communications, customer service, and health education, employers are able to ease their administrative burdens and associated costs.
The Retiree Health Collaborative is 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.