Changes to Insurance

[lally4dawgs]

Is anyone as offended by the changes to our prescription plan and the "reasoning" behind them?

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."

Well let me just say, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and our son has Type 1 diabetes and we did nothing to cause these diseases (except maybe immunizations) and if there was a way to change our lives and get rid of these diseases believe me, we would. The insensitivity of that statement lets me know that the people who make these decisions have no idea what they are doing, and if they did they would not make these broad offensive statements. Do I enjoy sticking my child with a needle several times a day??? No! Maybe UPS knows of some hidden cures that we have not been told about! We honestly don't know how we will make ends meet. So insurance costs keep going up, and our pay just kind of sits there! And my husband continues to work himself to death for this company, and it is becoming increasingly unclear why!

 

[brett636]

Is anyone as offended by the changes to our prescription plan and the "reasoning" behind them?

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."

Well let me just say, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and our son has Type 1 diabetes and we did nothing to cause these diseases (except maybe immunizations) and if there was a way to change our lives and get rid of these diseases believe me, we would. The insensitivity of that statement lets me know that the people who make these decisions have no idea what they are doing, and if they did they would not make these broad offensive statements. Do I enjoy sticking my child with a needle several times a day??? No! Maybe UPS knows of some hidden cures that we have not been told about! We honestly don't know how we will make ends meet. So insurance costs keep going up, and our pay just kind of sits there! And my husband continues to work himself to death for this company, and it is becoming increasingly unclear why!

Where did you read this at? Is your husband in management or hourly? What were the changes?

 

[Unregistered]

Insurance changes

It's not UPS. The changes are different based on where you live and which carriers you are with. Where I am, the coverage is either Aetna or Cigna. According to HR, they both changed the perscription plans. Instead of a co-pay, you pay to 20% of the cost of generics. For brand name, you pay 20% of the equivalent generic PLUS any difference between the generic and the brand name. Example; Generic cost = $100, you pay $20. Brand name cost = $200, you pay $120 ($20 + ($200 - $100)).

UPS (at least the district I came from) stopped doing the health insurance back in the 90's. Now it is all farmed out to health insurance companies.

 

[scratch]

They must be on Central States. Besides the cost of my prescriptions going up, when I go to the doctor for my hypertension, my lab tests are "routine" so most of them aren't covered and if my wife gets a mammagram, the Radiologist fee isn't covered. Since I have to have medicine to keep my blood pressure down so I can get a DOT card every year, this is crap. Last physical at my personal doctor cost me $400.00 out of my own pocket in lab charges.

 

[over9five]

This is just the beginning. Wait til 2008...

 

[ok2bclever]

Central States doesn't pay for our prescriptions, not while we are working, not when we are retired.

UPS does.

So if we get screwed when we retire or in 2008 it will be UPS doing the screwing, not Central States.

This prescription thing has to be a management/non-union person as ours cannot change without contractual negotiations.

In 2008 the company will be trying to help us understand the high cost of prescriptions and health care in general by having us pay as much of it as they can negotiate us into.

It would be nice if the economy is really cruising in 2008 to make it harder for UPS to push for us to help share their expenses as we are losing ground to the cost of living each year enough without excerbating this situation with another source of increasing bills.

 

[over9five]

"...ours cannot change without contractual negotiations."

Thats wrong. Ours went from zero copay for 'scripts up to $15. Had nothing to do with what was negotiated. TeamsterCare was loosing money on meds, so they changed the plan.

 

[susiedriver]

"...ours cannot change without contractual negotiations."

Thats wrong. Ours went from zero copay for 'scripts up to $15. Had nothing to do with what was negotiated. TeamsterCare was loosing money on meds, so they changed the plan.

Central States doesn't pay for our prescriptions, not while we are working, not when we are retired.

UPS does.

So if we get screwed when we retire or in 2008 it will be UPS doing the screwing, not Central States.

This prescription thing has to be a management/non-union person as ours cannot change without contractual negotiations.

I believe ok2b wins this round. .5 is not refering to a central states plan. Massachusetts is not in CS, but it is like .5 to twist a point to suit him.

Question for ok2b: I was under the impression that different areas of Central states may be under different medical. Some folks stayed with UPS medical, and some chose Teamster medical. Do you know for a fact that all CS is under UPS medical?

 

[over9five]

The original poster never said they were referring to a CS plan.

I simply disagree with the statement that an hourlys prescription coverage can't change except by negotiation.

Isn't it you that twists everything to meet your own agenda, Susie? (Look at yourself... Really look. Do you like what you see?)

 

[susiedriver]

The original poster never said they were referring to a CS plan.

The original poster never even said they were refering to an hourly plan. I have no agenda, I pay for my insurance now, you will in 2008.

 

[over9five]

"And my husband continues to work himself to death for this company,"

Obviously NOT referring to management.

"I pay for my insurance now, you will in 2008."

And on that we do agree.

 

[susiedriver]

"And my husband continues to work himself to death for this company,"

Obviously NOT referring to management.

I guess that was a snark. I believe everyone at UPS works hard, some more so than others. By your motto I would guess you, not so hard.

 

[over9five]

You come across as such a bitter person. I really feel sorry for you. Is there any joy in your life at all?

Or is this your joy? A former UPS driver with nothing better to do (or do it with), than to spend her time belittling real UPS drivers. (Look at yourself, Susie, really, there's help available).

 

[lally4dawgs]

My husband is Management. This quote came from the UPS Advantage, Benefits Resources website. It can be accessed by going to UPSers.com, then My life and career tab, and benefits update, I think. We discovered this when we were doing annual enrollment. I know Healthcare is expensive, I worked as a Radiologic Technologist before my son was diagnosed with Diabetes, but the people who need it the most, and have no control over their diseases except to treat it as the Dr. tells us too, are being hurt the most. Children. That is unfair. Mess with me, ok, mess with my kids, unexcusable! Our insurance is through Aetna, but the changes came to us from UPS.

 

[lally4dawgs]

I believe that if UPS really cared about us they would not let Aetna and these other companies do this to their employees.

 

[speeddemon]

It may come out of my check in 08, but I will make damn sure I get the OT to cover it.

 

[ddomino]

Suzie, We do pay for our insurance now. It means less per hour in my paycheck.

 

[wkmac]

In 2008 the company will be trying to help us understand the high cost of prescriptions and health care in general by having us pay as much of it as they can negotiate us into.

It's not funny but the way you said it OK was. It did make me chuckle. It's also very likely true.

Hey Susie, Cicero said "A Nation can survive it's fools" I don't think he ever knew what we have in Washington now or he wouldn't have said that!

 

[my2cents]

No doubt health and welfare will be a major issue when the next contract negotiations begin. In fact, this issue is covered as a front page story in today's Wall Street Journal. The article titled "Demands for Labor Givebacks Grow More Aggressive," concludes with the comments below:

"Does it hurt the unions that are coming up in the next bargaining cycle, with what's going on with the Big Three [auto makers]? Absolutely," says Richard L, a labor consultant to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Mr. L says the Teamsters probably will face a new level of pressure on wages and benefits when the group negotiates its contract with United Parcel Service Inc., where it represents more than 220,000 workers, in 2007. "There's going to be a lot of pressure on us to maintain those benefits," he said.

 

[ok2bclever]

susie, no it is certainly not uniform throughout CS.

Do you know much of anything that is uniform throughout the country involving UPS?

The medical insurance issue is determined local by local and can be changed by a company offering and vote.

I guess 9plus unwisely voted himself out of the contractually obligated UPS benefits and so is liable to change.

One hundred percent of prescriptions are paid for in my local and will be unless there is a contractual change as we ain't so stupid here to allow this to be a company decision on how much they have to pay.

That wasn't meant to say 9plus is stupid, but I do believe any local that would vote themselves into that position won't win any intelligence awards any time soon.

wkmac, well I was primarily quoting, but doesn't that sound like normal UPSpeak?

If the country continues in the miasmic direction that it has since 2000 and the pro-business/anti-worker Washington attitudes that allow corporate America to dump pensions and workers on a whim while closing loopholes on middle Americans and if dhl and fedex still exist D) and health care continues to lead the cost of living charge we can expect the union to have their hands full defending our gains against the company.