Medicare program; employers and duplicative Medicare benefits--HCFA. Notice

This notice announces the national average actuarial value of additional Medicare Part A benefits available in 1989 as a result of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988. Employers are required to examine the extent to which health benefits they provide to employees and retired former employees entitled to Medicare (including coverage for employees' and retired former employees' dependents entitled to Medicare) duplicate the new Part A and Part B benefits. If the duplicative benefits have a national average actuarial value of at least 50 percent of the value of the new Medicare benefits, the employer must offer a refund, additional benefits, or some combination thereof. In computing the actuarial values of the duplicative benefits, employers have the option of using national average actuarial values we establish or calculating the actuarial value based on guidelines we establish. This notice contains both the national actuarial values we have determined and the guidelines for employers to use.