The number of employees providing retiree drug coverage has dropped to 35.9% from 45.9% when PBMI began tracking this in 2007. The retiree drug subsidy program is the strategy of choice for 50.4% of the employers offering retiree coverage as illustrated in Table 9. Slightly less than 30% of employers offer group coverage through a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP). The differences in retiree coverage options for 2009 appear to represent the preferences of the marketplace.

There is 43.7% of responding carve-out employers who provide retiree drug coverage compared to only 23.3% of carve-in employers, a significant difference at the 95% level. Like the entire sample population providing retiree drug benefits, carve-out employers are most likely to participate in the Retiree Drug Subsidy. Carve-in employers (40.4%) are most likely to offer group coverage through a PDP.

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