Washington, D.C., Aug 6 - The 2010 Medicare Trustees report confirms what employers have been saying for months – that the Democrats’ health care law will result in a substantial and marked decline in employer-sponsored retiree drug coverage.

In 2009, 20 percent of seniors participating in Part D did so through a retiree plan offered by their former employer who received a federal subsidy. These employers are currently allowed to take a tax deduction on the value of this subsidy. However, beginning in 2013, the Democrats’ health care law will eliminate this deduction. As a result, the Medicare Trustees predict that the number of seniors receiving prescription drug coverage through a former employer will “decline quickly” with only 2 percent of Part D enrollees still receiving such coverage by 2016.

This means that the Medicare Trustees expect up to 5.8 million seniors to lose their current retiree prescription drug coverage by 2016. Further, an additional 1.7 million seniors who would have otherwise have received an offer of retiree prescription drug coverage in the future will not have this option. All told, 7.5 million seniors will no longer have access to retiree drug coverage by 2016 as a result of the Democrats’ health care law. So much for being able to keep your health coverage if you like it.

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