International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Time Warner Inc (TWX), Humana Inc (HUM): Is Obamacare Giving Retirees the Boot?

From the standpoint of the businesses involved this move is a no-brainer. With health costs for retirees rising, jettisoning retirees onto the individual health exchanges could free up millions for some of the nation’s largest employers which, in turn, can be used for job creation, research and development, or even a bigger dividend check to investors.

Another underlying winner here would be Medicare Advantage providers like Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), and Universal American Corporation (NYSE:UAM). Medicare Advantage plans are supplemental health insurance plans that seniors buy to fill the gap in insurance for what Medicare doesn’t cover. With many retirees now being displaced from their company-run plans, the aforementioned companies above — which receive about two-thirds, one-quarter, and three-quarters of their revenue, respectively, from Medicare Advantage plans — could be big beneficiaries.

Sometimes the effects of Obamacare on our nation’s workforce, or retirees in this case, isn’t subtle, but this is one scenario where it appears it’s going to work out well for retirees, for corporate America, and for a select group of insurers.

The article Is Obamacare Giving Retirees the Boot? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) and recommends UnitedHealth Group.

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