March 6, 2009
Questions about Health and Welfare
One of the hottest topics on the job site is health and welfare. It’s usually not because people are excited (in a good way) about our health and welfare program.
The biggest complaint I hear is that we are not getting our money’s worth. I hear a lot of people comparing our coverage to their spouses, uncles, cousins or sisters coverage and our coverage comes nowhere close to what these others are getting.
I don’t know anyone personally that has any of this amazing insurance, I’m sure it must exist. I do know we have had various BA’s say that they have had people look into our insurance and we are getting the best deal we can because of our demographics. Don’t know if it’s true or not, can only go with what we are told.
I think part of the problem is that we are self-insured. We might, emphasis on might, find a better deal by actually taking our contribution and buying coverage outright. Not sure how the logistics of that would work… pretty sure it would have to be negotiated in the contract. It certainly seems like something that should be explored.
If anyone knows exactly what we are contributing to H&W right now, could you comment and let us know?
Another problem that has been brought to my attention lately, is that we have members that are off work because of injury and they have been off long enough that their insurance coverage has lapsed… not enough hours. Surely we could have some sort of waiver for injured brothers and sisters, it only seems right to take of each other during hard times.
Lastly, I hear from very many that we need more dental and vision coverage. In fact this was brought up at the last meeting under new business. The BA assured the members that this is something that is going to be looked at the in the very near future.
Thoughts?
Comments on Questions about Health and Welfare »
my girlfriend knows the “ins & outs” of insurance. She has written contracts through out the whole state of Oklahoma. She said she has never had insurance as good as the 344 provides for its members. My brother has spent his whole life at halliburton and his insurance sucks.
There is no smoke and mirrors with our insurance. if it is supposed to pay… you can bet it will. Our insurance isn’t perfect but we have guys who have had cancer, broke backs and everything else and they get coverage just like everyone else.
Now lets get back to gaining more union shops and contractors!
Coverage for lasik.
I want to wake up and have my wife scare me before I put on my glasses
i had lasik a while back, its the best money I ever spent. $699 per eye with the belardo guy.
It would be nice if our insurance would help with dental implants also instead of a bridge.
I talked with a lady on the Internet a couple of years ago who lives in Australia. She had a heart attack, the ambulance came and picked her up, took her to the hospital, she had heart surgery and it never cost her a penny.
Remember our past B.A. Don Menefe did an actuary to study this question and could not find a provider that would cover as much or for the same co-pay percentage as we have now at the same premium ammount
I have always been told that the greatest thing about our insurance is that we do not put “waivers” in our insurance. If you hurt your back or neck or anything, other insurance companies have the right to waive any future problems you have because they have already covered the problem.
Our insurance does not do this, not unless it has changed and they have not told us. We cover our people 100% all the time. Trust me, this in itself is worth a little extra money.
I do agree with Phill_up and gizzard, we should be covering lasik. It is at least the same as eyeglass coverage for 4-6 years. Plus, if we are not going to cover it, then is our insurance going to cover the cost of prescription safety glasses every six months so we can replace them when they get all scratched up. These are what our officers should be checking on along with improved coverage.
And speaking of improved coverage, are dentures not teeth, and does it cost $1000 dollars a year to maintain them each year the way it does normal teeth. One root canal or one implant each year is $1000 so why are dentures not cheaper? I thought $4000 was cheaper than $10,000 or $20,000 but I guess the bean counters know better.
Stand up and speak your views at the next union meeting. We need your input and where you stand on this!