You can all say what you want about the plan, but you need to be thankful for what you receive in the way of benefits. Before you say anything about the PPACA (aka, ObamaCare) PLEASE read the 2,700 page document IN ITS ENTIRETY. I am a beneficiary of FedEx health plans, and I can tell you from experience that it is the best coverage out there for any company that provides employment at LIVING WAGE (vs minimum wage) salaries for a workforce that is primarily made up of high school graduates with NO COLLEGE EDUCATION. If you would prefer to have the coverage that TEAMSTERS give, then, by all means, PLEASE GO WORK FOR UPS and deal with the labor union and all of its wonderful policies and procedures. But then again, I'm sure many of the people who have posted on this discussion would prefer to be out of a job completely than to give up some of your BENEFITS. BTW, check the definition- a BENEFIT is a reward, not something that is earned...
I am an RN and work for one of the largest healthcare providers in the region, and the insurance provided by FedEx is much more competitively priced than what is offered by hospitals and physician's offices to their employees when comparing actual out of pocket consumer costs (premiums, deductibles, prescription benefits, etc). Also, many healthcare providers have different plans for different groups of employees- many pay 100% of out of pocket costs for physicians (the ones who have the highest incomes), while lower income employees have high copays and premiums. At least at Fed Ex, everyone has access to the same plans. Your Senior Vice President chooses from the same options and out of pocket expense that the package handler who was hired yesterday will choose from.
I guess what I am trying to say is PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES and stop complaining! The current movement is to encourage a healthy lifestyle, because almost all of the most costly health conditions can be eliminated by choosing a healthy lifestyle. Don't smoke, eat your fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins, lose some weight, and exercise. If you don't want to be hampered by out of pocket expenses for healthcare, the best thing to do is make the lifestyle changes that will decrease your risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, diabetes, and cancer. We live in a culture that wants a pill to fix everything, unfortunately an aspirin a day won't keep the doctor away. We have become obese, lazy, apathetic. This is why healthcare costs continue to rise. It is far to easy blame Fred S or Obama or the Republicans- when you do this, you don't have to take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!