Providing health care benefits to retirees and their families poses growing problems for American businesses. Ailing firms cannot provide the benefits promised in better times; retirees find themselves without coverage; and the health care system as a whole suffers from increased strains.

This study estimates the cost of retiree health benefits to American businesses and analyzes the policy issues surrounding them. Looking at proposed accounting standards and current underlying trends, Warshawsky develops a simulation model to calculate future costs for American businesses and examines the legal ramifications surrounding these issues. The volume concludes with a panel discussion of the issues raised by the author.

Mark J. Warshawsky, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board, wrote this analysis while a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.