PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is eliminating health benefits for 275 retirees and their spouses as the insurer struggles to stem its losses, Target 12 has learned.

In letters sent out this month, Blue Cross informed the group of elderly beneficiaries that the insurer would no longer offer them a subsidized Medicare Advantage plan starting next year, requiring them to pay the full cost of any replacement coverage. The plan covered the families of employees hired before 1992 who retired before April 2013.

Richard Salit, a spokesperson for Blue Cross, said the elimination of the retiree benefit is one of "multiple actions to reduce costs" that the insurer is undertaking to hold down premiums "in the face of skyrocketing medical and prescription drug cos

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