UPS Health Benefits Shock for Retired Union Employees

[moreluck]

Re: Health Benefit Shock

You shouldn't need an insurance broker to choose your Medicare supplement plan.

Some people don't understand all the choices and the prescriptions choices too.

We're self taught in Medicare.........used the broker for personal med. ins starting in 2000.....to 2012
Of course if you are a "know it all" then by all means don't listen to anyone who might know about Medicare.
I ended up in the donut hole 3 months after I signed up. happens and you need to personalize the different plans to suit you .

Taking the cheap way isn't necessarily cheaper.

 

[oldupsman]

Got my letter today. Already got 3 phone calls from guys who have retired or are close to it. This is all just
part of the contract negoiations. I'm not going to start worrying about this until July.

 

[tae111]

Got my letter today also. I remember a letter that went out around the same time as the last contract. It's part of their barganing stragety. I can only have faith that the union doesn't fall for it. I left 9/1/2011. Part of the reason I was able to leave was the $50. per month medical benifits. If it did go to $742. I would be screwed thats for sure.

 

[packageguy]

Something does not sound right, from 50.00 to 742.50. 8,910 a year from 600. 00. That can't be

 

[TechGrrl]

Something does not sound right, from 50.00 to 742.50. 8,910 a year from 600. 00. That can't be

The $50 per month part is incredibly cheap. $8910 per year for family coverage is actually pretty reasonable. I know management people who left the company, and they were paying $1300/month for their COBRA coverage, which matches what the company tells us every October. I know the company pays about $9500 per year for me for INDIVIDUAL coverage, and would be almost twice that if it was family coverage.

So if the Teamsters are able to keep that $50 per month premium, the money is going to have to come from somewhere.

Forget the Affordable Care Act for a moment. Health care in this country eats up almost 1/5 of our GDP. That is unsustainable. That includes drug prices that are ridiculous. For those who love to yak about deficit spending, the Medicare Part D drug benefit was completely unfunded when Pres. Bush and the GOP congress passed it. They also gave a big big benefit in corporate welfare to Pharma, by specifying that the US Government COULD NOT negotiate drug prices for this benefit! So Medicare Part D costs more than what the VA pays for the same drugs.

The ACA keeps all insurance in the hands of the private, for profit insurance companies. And yet, most GOP governors refuse to set up health insurance exchanges for people to be able to shop for individual policies, leaving it to the Federal Government. What sense does that make?

The US is dead last among industrialized countries for the expense of our health care system, with worse outcomes. Of course, those other countries have far tighter government control over the whole system than we do.

 

[tardus]

There are several topics covering insurance in retirement under the Retirement discussion category. I retired with the UPS Retirement Health Plan this year and was shocked at how much worse the coverage was for the retiree plan than for the employee plan. For example, my UPS Retirement Health Plan had a $150,000 annual benefit limit (while I had no annual coverage limit while employed), and the Retiree plan had exclusions for many major procedures. I switched to a private plan with a high deductible but no annual benefit limit.

 

[Ms.PacMan]

If you are in Central States, then the Teamsters control your Health Insurance, not UPS.

I'm in Central States and retirees here (and current employees) have UPS insurance.

So if the Teamsters are able to keep that $50 per month premium, the money is going to have to come from somewhere.

It's actually UPS insurance for Teamster retirees.

 

[The Milkman]

There are several topics covering insurance in retirement under the Retirement discussion category. I retired with the UPS Retirement Health Plan this year and was shocked at how much worse the coverage was for the retiree plan than for the employee plan. For example, my UPS Retirement Health Plan had a $150,000 annual benefit limit (while I had no annual coverage limit while employed), and the Retiree plan had exclusions for many major procedures. I switched to a private plan with a high deductible but no annual benefit limit.

Our Plan is for $500,000 for each of us Lifetime for family...3 of us

 

[Jones]

Our Plan is for $500,000 for each of us Lifetime for family...3 of us

I'm pretty sure the ACA eliminates both yearly and lifetime caps.

 

[beentheredonethat]

I'm pretty sure the ACA eliminates both yearly and lifetime caps.

I believe you are right.. However, when you take away caps, you leave more cost the insurance has to handle, which means higher premiums. The original poster indicated that his problem is the premiums are going up. So ACA won't help him in fact it could hurt him more.

 

[Catatonic]

I'm pretty sure the ACA eliminates both yearly and lifetime caps.

As related to Employer provided health insurance ... the cap is eliminated for active employees - for retirees the cap can be set by the employer.
Most employers, as did UPS, is lowering the cap for retirees to keep costs down.
I don't know if the ACA kicks in if a retiree goes over the yearly or lifetime cap.

 

[tardus]

Hoakster is correct: the Affordable Care Act's elimination of annual benefit limits in health care coverage only applies to insurance plans that cover active employees. UPS is exploiting the loophole that the UPS Retiree Health Plan covers no active employees -- only a whole heck-of-a-lot of FORMER employees! I would strongly encourage anyone with a UPS Retiree Health Plan to read the fine print on whether their plan has an annual limit on insurance coverage. (I even called up the Feds to complain about the annual limit in my UPS Retiree Health Plan policy, and the Feds told me that the restrictions do not apply to retiree plans that have no active employees.)

 

[kumet]

unless something has changed in the past couple of years, BCBS said dependents over 18 or 19 and not in school will not be covered but there is no lifetime cap for retiree

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I'm pretty sure the ACA eliminates both yearly and lifetime caps.

...and precluding those with pre-existing conditions...

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

unless something has changed in the past couple of years, BCBS said dependents over 18 or 19 and not in school will not be covered but there is no lifetime cap for retiree

Something has changed---it is called Obamacare---they are now required to cover your children up to age 26 regardless of whether they are in school or not unless they are offered coverage through their employer.

 

[brez3903]

I got that letter, the cap for retiree insurance is $6260. is it possible that this increase is for the Dental and eyeglasses, but your medical benefits are still intact whether you pay the extra money or not? I took Teamstar for my supplement to medicare, it's just for teamsters, it's the lowest plan around and I took plan friend just something to think about

 

[oldupsman]

Something does not sound right, from 50.00 to 742.50. 8,910 a year from 600. 00. That can't be

Oh that's right. Since it's just me and the wife, mine goes from 50.00 a month to 500.00 a month. Or 600.00 a year to 6000.00
a year. You're reading it right. Good kick to the old groin area.

 

[Ms.PacMan]

I'm guessing that attaching the entire UPS Health and Welfare pdf would be forbidden. Can I cut and paste or should I paraphrase?

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[over9five]

I'm guessing that attaching the entire UPS Health and Welfare pdf would be forbidden. Can I cut and paste or should I paraphrase?

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Paraphrase please. (and you can link).

Thank you!

 

[Ms.PacMan]

Eligible retired employees have medical, dental and vision coverage from a separate plan called.....Like the UPS Health and Welfare Package, it offers medical option choices at each annual enrollment.Option 1 for retirees is the Primary Care Physician Network. Option 2 is the Preferred Provider Network. If you do not live in a network area, you will receive Traditional Program coverage. You may also have the HMO Option available. (there is more language about moving to a different location and options in the new location)
There is a new lifetime maximum that begins when you retire and become eligible for benefits from the UPS Health and Welfare Package for Retired Employees
Retirees are also eligible for dental and vision.

The Lifetime Benefit Maximum
Up to $500,000 in lifetime medical benefits (unlimited in HMO Option) for each person participating in the UPS Health and Welfare Package for
Retired Employees. Only benefits paid while you receive coverage as a retired employee count toward the $500,000 total. The lifetime maximum includes mental health/substance abuse care. Each January, up to $1,000 in individual benefits paid during the preceding year will automatically be restored.

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