- You cannot buy UPS-controlled or Teamster-controlled health insurance in the market place.
- All union-eligible UPSers are in self-insured plans. That is, neither UPS nor the Teamsters pay for the insurance; instead, they pay a nominal fees to providers (Aeta, BCBS, etc.) to manage the health plans but administer (pay all claims) themselves. In other words, that $286 paid to your doctor came out of UPS's pocket, not BCBS's.
- The value assigned to your health plan is what UPS and IBT considers fair market value - NOT what was actually paid for it. If you're some 20-year-old kid that never used your health insurance last year, it cost UPS merely a few bucks out-of-pocket, despite that $5000-$8000 FMV listed on your W-2.
What are you asking? If you want to know how much such insurance will cost out-of-pocket on the individual market, the answer is "a lot," and a lot more than what's listed on your W-2. This is because people who typically tend to purchase individual insurance skew older and often have a lot of health problems (which is what ObamaCare is attempting to change). When an employer traditionally purchases group health insurance, it is spreading the risk among all employees, young & old, health & sick, which is why pricing is based on the employer's demographic.
For me, a 31-year-old non-smoking male, the best-priced health plan I can purchase in my area (with a provider accepted in most places; e.g. Aetna, BCBS, etc.) that closely matches UPS's would cost me just over $5,000 annually. But it has a $250 deductible, only pays 80% of claims, would cost me $35 for an office visit (more for a specialist) and charge me $10-$65 per prescription.
