Medco

Dfigtree

Well-Known Member
When I was young and naive and healthy and had just joined UPS, I did not realize what a great benefit we had with our pharmaceutical plan. NO CO-PAY. Well, I just received an email from Medco that showed me how to print a summary of last years activity. Seems like I am making co-pays in the neighborhood of 25%. Now I realize that some of you can offset some of that cost with the Health Care Spending accounts but that is little help. Hey, I am a retiree on fixed income. If that 25% continues to rise over my retirement years, I may become a greeter at Walmart. It amounts to a silent reduction in my pension and a maybe-not-so-silent salary decrease to employees. I'll bet when I do get next year's email from MEDCO that 25% will be blown away.
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
So you are retired now and have to pay 25% for your pharmaceutical needs? What else are you paying for that you didn't when you were working? No kidding that this will cut into your pension!
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
You had the benefits over the years, something the Walmart employee will never exprience. Too bad you are the last generation to see great benefits and pensions. As Union membership drops so do benefits companies provide. Hopefully it's just a trend and today's workers will realize "The man" is bending them over. Listen to the people who say "why do I need a Union" as they make $12 an hour and have to kick in for healthcare and try to put money away so when they retire at 67 they have $43,000 in a 401k to retire on. I fear for my children and their ability to survive without living in my basement. BM
 

tieguy

Banned
Blame who you feel deserves it but the fact is medical costs are going through the roof and everyone is struggling with the extra costs.
 

Dfigtree

Well-Known Member
Blame who you feel deserves it but the fact is medical costs are going through the roof and everyone is struggling with the extra costs.
I was management.

My point is that whether you are management, union or retiree the ever increasing medical costs are coming out of your income or pension in a disproportionately increasing percentage. That is, you are paying a larger percentage of the increase than the company and that this is, in essence, a silent income or pension, reduction.
 
D

DueceChills

Guest
When I was young and naive and healthy and had just joined UPS, I did not realize what a great benefit we had with our pharmaceutical plan. NO CO-PAY. Well, I just received an email from Medco that showed me how to print a summary of last years activity. Seems like I am making co-pays in the neighborhood of 25%. Now I realize that some of you can offset some of that cost with the Health Care Spending accounts but that is little help. Hey, I am a retiree on fixed income. If that 25% continues to rise over my retirement years, I may become a greeter at Walmart. It amounts to a silent reduction in my pension and a maybe-not-so-silent salary decrease to employees. I'll bet when I do get next year's email from MEDCO that 25% will be blown away.


Wow, 25%! Ok, you are only luckier than 96% of the world's population. If this keeps up, heck, next year you'll only be luckier than 93% of the world's pop.
 
A

an anonymous guest

Guest
FP....The best defense is a good offense...do your best to eat right, exercise, and stop worrying about things at UPS you no longer can affect. Golf is great therapy for getting stress down.

Medicare Part 'D' was a good deal for my parents, they didn't max out but they did not need a supplement plan either. I assume you are not old enough for medicare stuff....

If you can't accomplish part 1 above, my advice is to drink heavily. That way you can at least enjoy yourself into medical obilion....

Go UPS!
P71
 

Channahon

Well-Known Member
I was management.

My point is that whether you are management, union or retiree the ever increasing medical costs are coming out of your income or pension in a disproportionately increasing percentage. That is, you are paying a larger percentage of the increase than the company and that this is, in essence, a silent income or pension, reduction.

Didn't you get your letter from Medco advising changes for your prescription plan? If not, you may want to give them a call and ask about it.

Try Wal-Mart - they have $4 prescriptions for some medications in some areas of the country
 

woodenfoot

Active Member
i am retired and under the plan in chicago area i pay 20 atena pay 80 i was using a mail order and went to walmart and they beat the mail order com seeing soon all retires will be working at wally wally world cause of medical costs
 

Megansman

Well-Known Member
Medical costs are going up for a variety of reasons -- new medical proceedures/medications -- inventing new techniques and drugs cost money and if the inventors aren't rewarded they'll stop (what new drugs have come from countries with government run health care? -- there's no incentive (read profit motive) to do so.)

Most people who use medical care shift the cost to another party to pay -- hence they have no incentive to ration their use. That goes from me with my low/no co-pay to the "immigant worker" (illegal alien) who goes to the emergency room for anything and everything.

Some solutions... Government run health care. Pros: It's free. Cons: It's not free, you pay for it every time you earn a dime, every time you buy a pack of gum, and you pay and pay and pay some more every time you turn around. Also since it's "free" everyone and their brother is at the doctor's office for everything you can think of so if you have to go you're gonna wait. The reason 1/3 of the hospital beds in Detroit and Buffalo and other border cities are full of Canadians is because those people can't wait and have the financial means to come here for treatment (I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out what those that don't have the financial means to do something end up doing). In essence health care is rationed -- first come, first served. That's ok unless you have a life threatening situation. And one more thing to consider if you're partial to this solution -- the best and the brightest tend to go into other fields since medicine doesn't pay very well. Doctors in Canada don't make much money.

A more market oriented solution would be medical savings accounts.

Suppose UPS gave you a medical credit card with a 5000 dollar limit on it and you used it for all your medical expenses, prescriptions, dental, the works. Once the 5k is gone, an insurance policy picks up the rest so when you have open heart surgury, its' all covered. If at the end of the year you haven't used up the full 5 grand you get a check (and just for fun let's issue those checks December 20th) for the difference. Now you have a market incentive to use less health care. Do you really need your teeth cleaned twice a year? Or would you rather have the 95 bucks? Or perhaps find a dentist that will do it for 75.

I realize now that I've strayed off topic... oops.
 

Dutch Dawg

Well-Known Member
I had a breakdown the other day. During the hour I waited for automotive to get me back up and running I called my brother to chit chat and get some sympathy to my dilemma. His rebuttal was to remind me I was still earning my hourly rate during that hour and to quit bitching. I thought he was being insensitive when I hung up, then I realized he was just putting it all in perspective. No one in my family other than myself has ever had 100% prescription. I'm sure they'd all be greatful for 75% at retirement. While I can feel your pain be assured the majority of american labor let alone the world just won't understand your plight.
 

brown bomber

brown bomber
100% r/x...please tell me how...us jokers in Central States keep having increased out-of-pocket expenses..whether it be routine, emergency or scripts
 
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