UPS won't insure spouses of many employees

[SignificantOwner]

I am one of the unlucky 15,000 who are getting screwed on this one. My wife has been on my UPS insurance since we've been married. She is able to get insurance through her employer, but the insurance is expensive and it sucks. That's why she hasn't been on it all along. She is a cancer patient, so we've hit the max out of pocket amount for the past few years. Now we'll have two separate out of pocket maximums to hit. One for her and one for the kids and I. We won't know exactly what the financial impact will be until we see all the costs during both benefit selection periods. It will be thousands per year, there's no doubt about that.

​Sorry man. That sucks.

 

[beentheredonethat]

I am one of the unlucky 15,000 who are getting screwed on this one. My wife has been on my UPS insurance since we've been married. She is able to get insurance through her employer, but the insurance is expensive and it sucks. That's why she hasn't been on it all along. She is a cancer patient, so we've hit the max out of pocket amount for the past few years. Now we'll have two separate out of pocket maximums to hit. One for her and one for the kids and I. We won't know exactly what the financial impact will be until we see all the costs during both benefit selection periods. It will be thousands per year, there's no doubt about that.

Popeye sorry to hear about your wife's cancer. Hopefully she 100% recovers. I am not impacted myself, but I think this decision by UPS is "WRONG". UPS hates bad publicity. I suggest you work on a news article on this. Some news outlets will jump on as a way to bash Obamacare also.

 

[Popeye]

Popeye sorry to hear about your wife's cancer. Hopefully she 100% recovers. I am not impacted myself, but I think this decision by UPS is "WRONG". UPS hates bad publicity. I suggest you work on a news article on this. Some news outlets will jump on as a way to bash Obamacare also.

Thank you. Fortunately she's been cancer free for almost 3 years. But she still needs a bunch of expensive tests every year. This "enhancement" is going to hit us pretty hard.

 

[FubarDelux]

Thank you. Fortunately she's been cancer free for almost 3 years. But she still needs a bunch of expensive tests every year. This "enhancement" is going to hit us pretty hard.

Prayers it stays away. Those test are a expensive but necessary evil. There are better ways for the company to cut cost. It should start in Atlanta.

 

[SignificantOwner]

Popeye sorry to hear about your wife's cancer. Hopefully she 100% recovers. I am not impacted myself, but I think this decision by UPS is "WRONG". UPS hates bad publicity. I suggest you work on a news article on this. Some news outlets will jump on as a way to bash Obamacare also.

​This change will cost two close friends that do the same job i do thousands of dollars a year each. I recently sat across the table from one of them at lunch and wondered what he did to warrant this pay cut when the other three of us at the table weren't affected. The only answer I could come up with is that he is a vulnerable minority. They say that feel strongly that employers should provide coverage for their own employees but it feels more like calculated opportunism than a moral position. I don't remember UPS in the news in past years leading that charge.

 

[co-chair]

How to stick it to your management team thank god i am union. Hope we get this contract done and good bye scott davis thanks for sinking this titanic for the second time i thought jim kelly sucked with ipo in 1999 and 1997 strike what next rabbie shots for the easter bunny

 

[serenity now]

​This change will cost two close friends that do the same job i do thousands of dollars a year each. I recently sat across the table from one of them at lunch and wondered what he did to warrant this pay cut when the other three of us at the table weren't affected. The only answer I could come up with is that he is a vulnerable minority. They say that feel strongly that employers should provide coverage for their own employees but it feels more like calculated opportunism than a moral position. I don't remember UPS in the news in past years leading that charge.

roger that

 

[SignificantOwner]

Now that it's enrollment time I'm interested to hear personal stories of the impact of this change. Are you paying less, more, or the same overall for your family?

 

[island1fox]

Usually the yearly "enrollment letter" tells us to call --only if we are making changes.

Does anyone know why --they want ALL of us to call this year ??----it is going to be very hard to get through --just to tell them to keep the same coverage .

 

[Catatonic]

Usually the yearly "enrollment letter" tells us to call --only if we are making changes.

Does anyone know why --they want ALL of us to call this year ??----it is going to be very hard to get through --just to tell them to keep the same coverage .

​Probably to get "employee" acknowledgement of new conditions so they have "risk management" concerns covered and coverage for future disciplinary actions based on non-compliance.

 

[cynic]

Usually the yearly "enrollment letter" tells us to call --only if we are making changes.

Does anyone know why --they want ALL of us to call this year ??----it is going to be very hard to get through --just to tell them to keep the same coverage .

Probably so no one can claim they didn't know their spouse was not going to receive coverage. I'd wager every one of the phone calls of those whose spouse will be dropped from coverage is recorded and specifically saved to reduce UPS's exposure from litigation.

Or maybe there's a suprise at the end of the conversation and they'll tell you UPS is giving out turkeys again at Thanksgiving??

 

[Catatonic]

Probably so no one can claim they didn't know their spouse was not going to receive coverage. I'd wager every one of the phone calls of those whose spouse will be dropped from coverage is recorded and specifically saved to reduce UPS's exposure from litigation.

Or maybe there's a suprise at the end of the conversation and they'll tell you UPS is giving out turkeys again at Thanksgiving??

​You are very cynical ... I like that in a person.

 

[island1fox]

Today I spent 30 minutes on the phone --only to be told that if you are leaving your coverage the same --you did not need to call.
I realized I was only speaking to a Phone clerk --polite --but had no idea what to answer when I asked her why the info letter that was sent to us on enrollment --did not state that if you were not changing --you did not need to call.

 

[Catatonic]

Today I spent 30 minutes on the phone --only to be told that if you are leaving your coverage the same --you did not need to call.
I realized I was only speaking to a Phone clerk --polite --but had no idea what to answer when I asked her why the info letter that was sent to us on enrollment --did not state that if you were not changing --you did not need to call.

Same here ... I went back and looked and there was absolutely no mention of that fact.
​UPS will be paying big bucks for that oversight.

Reason: Doing more with less.
Goobers!

 

[upsoldtimer]

UPS is a self-ensured company. What that means is that UPS is actually paying all insurance claims dollar for dollar. UPS simply uses companies like Aetna for instance to administer the benefits package. (There may be other companies which UPS uses in a similar way.) As such, IMHO, UPS should have done this ages ago baby.....Why should UPS pay benefits for an employee's spouse who is eligible for coverage at their own employer? As for the extra premium for smokers....quite obvious that smoking increases the risk of health issues, so the extra premium is warranted just as a driver with points on his/her license will pay a higher premium than a driver with a good driving record baby......

 

[Catatonic]

UPS is a self-ensured company. What that means is that UPS is actually paying all insurance claims dollar for dollar. UPS simply uses companies like Aetna for instance to administer the benefits package. (There may be other companies which UPS uses in a similar way.) As such, IMHO, UPS should have done this ages ago baby.....Why should UPS pay benefits for an employee's spouse who is eligible for coverage at their own employer? As for the extra premium for smokers....quite obvious that smoking increases the risk of health issues, so the extra premium is warranted just as a driver with points on his/her license will pay a higher premium than a driver with a good driving record baby......

And they should charge the most for those over 55 years of age because that is statistically when the costs start to skyrocket ... especially retirees.

 

[SignificantOwner]

And they should charge the most for those over 55 years of age because that is statistically when the costs start to skyrocket ... especially retirees.

​Yeah BABY.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

And they should charge the most for those over 55 years of age because that is statistically when the costs start to skyrocket ... especially retirees.

No.......they should charge more by the higher rank that you have!..........no ...not because of how much income!.An on car sup maybe a few pounds overweight, a center manager maybe a good 50 lbs overweight, and a division manager is a stroke or heart attack waiting to happen!!.So honestly who should pay more?? WTF Do I know?? Im just an overpaid driver, who cant think for himself!

 

[bleedinbrown58]

UPS is a self-ensured company. What that means is that UPS is actually paying all insurance claims dollar for dollar. UPS simply uses companies like Aetna for instance to administer the benefits package. (There may be other companies which UPS uses in a similar way.) As such, IMHO, UPS should have done this ages ago baby.....Why should UPS pay benefits for an employee's spouse who is eligible for coverage at their own employer? As for the extra premium for smokers....quite obvious that smoking increases the risk of health issues, so the extra premium is warranted just as a driver with points on his/her license will pay a higher premium than a driver with a good driving record baby......

But where does it end? Extra premiums for smokers, extra for people who drink over a certain amount a week....extra premiums for people with dangerous hobbies (i.e. skydiving, pilot's license or ride motorcycles). If we get hurt in a car accident or get a serious illness....should there be an extra premium for that too?

 

[Catatonic]

No.......they should charge more by the higher rank that you have!..........no ...not because of how much income!.An on car sup maybe a few pounds overweight, a center manager maybe a good 50 lbs overweight, and a division manager is a stroke or heart attack waiting to happen!!.So honestly who should pay more?? WTF Do I know?? Im just an overpaid driver, who cant think for himself!

​All points have some validity to them ... especially a couple.