Headache For Retiree Health Care

Legislation, regulation, and more litigation are three of the options that plan sponsor advocates are considering in the wake of the US Supreme Court's recent decision not to review Erie County Retirees Association v. County of Erie. The decision lets stand a ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals last August that Medicare-eligible retirees are entitled to sue under the Older Workers' Benefits Protection Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) when they receive less extensive health-care benefits than the same employer's non-Medicare-eligible retirees (see "Curtains for retiree health?" October, 2000).