Changes to Insurance

[susie_driver]

I can't log in! Is anyone else having this problem?

Anyway, ok2b, I remember voting in my old local back in the early 80's I think? I'm sure we all voted at the same time. I wasn't sure if this was nationwide, jurisdiction-wide, or statewide. Our local laughed at the Teamster 'gold' & 'silver' plans that were offered as an alternative. I'm not sure .5 has been around that long.

My husband is CS, retired, but not soon enough or old enough to get the terribly expensive insurance offered. We have signed up for Teamstar Insurance as a stop gap, but have yet to use it. We are very active, fit, and healthy, knock on wood, so we don't use the drug plan. Hopefully the greatest country this planet has seen in the last few millennia will step up and insure the health of their citizens in my lifetime.

I would like to comment on your last paragraph, but this gal has to start cookin!

 

[Unregistered]

insurance changes

OK2BClever,
Yes. I am management... so they tell me. I work in IS. I'm the guy they call day and night when the some of the computer systems have problems. (Working tonight on my 14th wedding anniversary. Wife is pissed. Me too). Started as inside working through school, went to part time hub sup, did my 30 as a driver (before DIAD) and went into IS. 'nough of that.

The perscription change I wrote about was for all of IS (NJ, MD and KY) and is under Cignga, Aetna and (I think) Untited Health Care. I've been paying for insurance since the 90's. As I understand it, UPS farms out the insurance. The definitely do for Mgt and I'm pretty sure they do something similar for teamsters too. I COULD be wrong, though. After all, I AM management.

dj

 

[Unregistered]

>>>Quote: "While UPS continues to pay a major protion of this coverage, this change will help YOU understand the actual cost of prescription medications and the need to improve the health and reduce the overall need for expensive medications.">>>

What I got out of the health care meeting is that UPS wants us to call around and find the cheapest meds saving both UPS and us money. I send my regular precription into medco and if I am sick and need meds that day, trust me, I am not going to be sitting with the phone book trying to get a good deal on a prescription.

 

[Unregistered]

Don't be concerned, Teamsters. The Flex Benefit plan affects management and non-union employees only. Originally "sold" to management as something the union folks would eventually have to do. That was several years ago. Flex costs continue to go up, deductibles rise, meds are now on the hit parade. I seriously doubt that Teamsters will ever go to Flex benefits - your leadership would be committing suicide by agreeing to voluntarily asking to pay medical costs. The management team gets the short end here.

 

[louisvilleslugger]

All I know is I work in Louisville as a non-union full time hourly. What pisses me off is that my wife is very ill too, she is a type one diabetic and has a myriad of expensive health problems. From now on, I'm going to have to front 20% of the cost of prescription meds while union folks I work right next to for the same freaking company still enjoy a 5 dollar co-pay for drugs be them name brand or generic. What pisses me of even more is they make 3 times the hourly wage I do. Where's the justice in that??? UPS continues to announce quarterly profits out the ass yet my benefits keep getting chisled away year after year and my measly raises don't even come close to keeping up with the current rate of inflation.

 

[lally4dawgs]

Could not have said it any better, louisvilleslugger! I feel your pain with the type 1 diabetes, our son (10) was diagnosed at 4. It is a struggle with the way our rx is set up now, I am afraid of what will happen to us. UPS is making tons, and here we all sit, barely getting by. Does your wife do shots or a pump? I have found one place that gives us a break on pump supplies by not charging the 20% ins does not pay. I can't believe that "union" has that little a copay, no WONDER we are all suffering, we are paying for them! No offense union folks, but it sucks. My husband went to Louisville in 97 for the strike, and we got squat for that, and I was 8 1/2 months pregnant! hmmm makes you wonder

 

[mr_roboto]

I'm the one who should complain. I never get sick, never go to the doctor, and never take prescriptions and I'm going to have to start paying for insurance so the rest of you can afford your pills. Injuries are one thing but sickness is a frame of mind. Quit your whining and start living a more healthy life. If you all had to pay 100% for prescriptions you might discover you really don't need them after all.

roboto

 

[moreluck]

Sickness is a frame of mind!!!!!

Tell that to the cancer. What a ridiculous statement.

Granted, a good frame of mind can help in healing, but it won't keep the sicknesses away, if you're the target.

 

[ok2bclever]

louisville, you don't pay for our better benefits.

You make a valid point on why we needed and need the union though.

Without the union yours wouldn't be any cheaper, ours would just be as lousy as yours and the corporate profit level would be higher.

There is actually a valid argument that if not for the higher union standards to have to be compared to, yours (and ours) would actually be worse and the corporate profit would be that much higher.

A positive frame of mind can go a long way towards preventing some illnesses, but genetics and environment control too much ground that individuals cannot no matter how positive minded roboto.

Youth makes it easier to be healthy and resistent to illness as well.

It is a fact of life that the older you get the less likely that you will remain fully healthy and not require medical assistance of varying levels.

susie, I am not having any trouble logging in.

It was in the 80's here as well that we voted to stay with the company.

Guess we were pretty smart even that far back.

We have Zero deductible for prescriptions as long as we will use generic equivalents and that would require a contractual change to change that.

The company will certainly mounting an attack on this in 2008 for our benefit in understanding the high cost of medicine, I am sure.

 

[susiedriver]

Without the union yours wouldn't be any cheaper, ours would just be as lousy as yours and the corporate profit level would be higher.

That was a theme that I have heard echoed by many management people, and is one of the reasons that union folks are held in contempt by management.

A positive frame of mind can go a long way towards preventing some illnesses, but genetics and environment control too much ground that individuals cannot no matter how positive minded roboto.

Maybe so, but if I get real sick, I'm trying natural/holistic care befor I get myself pumped full of drugs whose side effects are a crapshoot.

susie, I am not having any trouble logging in.

It was in the 80's here as well that we voted to stay with the company.

Guess we were pretty smart even that far back.

Cheryl pm'ed about the logon, it's fixed.

Early 80's; we're both old!

It was my understanding that everyone was UPS insurance at the time, and some wanted the choice of the Teamster plans. You didn't have to be real smart to figure that out, though smarter than some, it would seem

 

[lally4dawgs]

I'm the one who should complain. I never get sick, never go to the doctor, and never take prescriptions and I'm going to have to start paying for insurance so the rest of you can afford your pills. Injuries are one thing but sickness is a frame of mind. Quit your whining and start living a more healthy life. If you all had to pay 100% for prescriptions you might discover you really don't need them after all.

roboto

Shame on you Roboto! Tell my 10 year old son whose blood sugars were over 1000 and he was almost in a coma that his diabetes is a frame of mind. Tell me that when he has a seizure because of low blood sugars that it is all in our heads!!! I am sure at ten he would tell you were to stick your theories. You are ignorant if you believe what you said, and maybe it was you who came up with this plan in the first place!!

 

[mr_roboto]

I made a general statement and there are obviously a few exceptions to the rule.

If I had to say something to your kid it would be "hang in there and when you are old enough to get out on your own, use your head and get off the prescription drugs."

roboto

 

[moreluck]

roboto....oh man, you're just digging that hole deeper.

 

[mr_roboto]

roboto....oh man, you're just digging that hole deeper.

that's not medical advice....just MHO

roboto

 

[ok2bclever]

susie​

, your first quote response was a tad weird and I cannot believe that was what you actually meant.

You stated management agreed that theirs was not crappy because of the union and so they despise the union for that?

Your second certainly depends on the medicine and medical problem.

For instance, I don't know of any holistic medicine for a child with severe diabetes as mentioned here and I had emergency appendectomy surgery while on a trip to New York in August and I am pretty sure nothing holistic would have fixed my appendix or saved me.

I will agree there are plenty of suspect drugs and drug treatments being used or perhaps sold to the public would be a more accurate term more in the name of profit than medicine.

 

[susiedriver]

susie​

, your first quote response was a tad weird and I cannot believe that was what you actually meant.

You stated management agreed that theirs was not crappy because of the union and so they despise the union for that?

No, I meant that mgmt felt ours was better, and it ticked them off to no end.

Obviously a burst appendix requires immediate medical attention, ask Houdini, if he would have survived. I think that healthy living and smart diet choices *may* help avoid that appendix problem, though, just maybe. Then again, something goes through wrong, and BOOM.

 

[ok2bclever]

As I know healthy 7 year olds that have had to have their appendix out and science doesn't even know of any use for the thing, so may and maybe are the only facts involved in your nutrition suposition.

Can't fault healthy living and smart diet choices as that at least sounds good although you can get four definitions diametrically opposed by four people on either or both of those terms and even have those same people change their definitions over time and continuing discoveries of the falsehood of ongoing facts.

The entire biological field from active medicine to "healthy choices" is not science, nor even art, more like a hobby.

 

[lally4dawgs]

Roboto~obviously you work for UPS, and not in the Medical field. Unless you have a degree that would qualify you to make assumptions or diagnosis in Diabetes or Gynocology for that matter, I would suggest that you keep your "medical advice" to yourself. My kid would tell you that he knows more about Diabetes at age 10 than you ever will in your life, UNLESS you are one of those unlucky few who gets this dreaded disease. My only beef here was that we have health problems that are out of our control, and to suggest otherwise was insensitive by whomever wrote up the plan. Oh and by the way Mr. Roboto, just so you know, when you have kids(does not sound like you do, sorry) you will do whatever it takes to make sure they are ok, and if we had to pay for our meds 100%, you can bet you sweet robotic rear end that we would do it. Nuff said.

 

[lally4dawgs]

Maybe so, but if I get real sick, I'm trying natural/holistic care befor I get myself pumped full of drugs whose side effects are a crapshoot.


Yeah, uh let us know how that all turns out, (if you ever become "REAL SICK" I would think twice if you get something like oh say colon or breast cancer...really I would. You wait too late, it's too late.

 

[louisvilleslugger]

She's on the pump. The good news is our drugs are covered 100% after we spend $1500.00 on her, which we will do prob in the 1st 3 mos. of the year....pray for us we're in for a rough road.