From Scott Merrill(Skippy)’s website:
This modification allows blog authors to assign a minimum user level required to view each post. The default value is zero (retroactively applied to all existing posts), which means anyone can see the post. By choosing the post level on the admin post or edit screen, the author can limit who sees what.
This looks to be a very useful tool for community sites powered by WordPress and it is from Skippy, so you know it is a quality production.
Check it out over here.