Retired Steelworkers and Their Health Benefits: Results from a 2004 Survey

Publication Date: May 2006

Publisher: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health; Labor

Type: Report

Coverage: Pennsylvania Indiana Ohio Maryland

Abstract:

This Kaiser survey report looks at how the bankruptcies of two steel companies, the LTV Corporation and Bethlehem Steel, affected health coverage for the companies' retirees and dependents. The bankruptcies left about 200,000 retirees and spouses without retiree health coverage in 2002 and 2003. The report provides insight into the impact of a tax credit enacted by Congress in 2002 to provide temporary assistance to workers and retirees in "distressed" industries, including the steel industry.

The 2004 survey found that nearly three quarters of the retirees who responded had obtained replacement coverage or a supplement to their Medicare coverage, although many reported that the loss of benefits caused a significant disruption to their retirement.

This survey sample included 2,691 retirees or surviving spouses, including both early retirees ages 64 and younger in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland and Medicare-age retirees 65 in the states of Indiana and Ohio. The United Steelworkers of America assisted in the survey by providing information needed to identify affected retirees and surviving spouses for participation in the survey.