ABILITY TO PAY FOR RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS

This paper examines retired persons who received employer-provided hea lth benefits in 1987. The sociodemographic, health, and economic chara cteristics of these elderly persons are compared to the total elderly population. Two methods of estimating retiree insurance purchase are c onsidered and indicate 13% to 20% of retirees would be unable to affor d benefits without an employer subsidy. The percentage of persons unab le to purchase the employer-provided benefits drops significantly if s ome subsidy is maintained. The results indicate substantial difference s in ability to purchase insurance by sociodemographic characteristics . The future of retiree health benefits in a reformed health care syst em is discussed.