Companies Trim Health Benefits for Many Retirees as Costs Surge
Increases in prescription drug prices are cited as a major contributing factor as well as cutting back on benefits, which included drug coverage, by Medicare health maintenance organizations. Many medium-sized companies are no longer offering retiree health care coverage to new employees, and small companies rarely pay these benefits.
See MILT FREUDENHEIM, The New York Times, May 9, 2002