UPS DRopping Spouses From Insurance Coverage, Cites "Obamacare"

[listopencil]

UPS to drop 15,000 spouses from health insurance, cites Obamacare

United Parcel Service plans to remove thousands of spouses from its medical plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere. The Atlanta-based shipping and logistics company points to the federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, as a big reason for the decision, reports Kaiser Health News. According to Kaiser, UPS told white-collar workers two months ago that 15,000 working spouses eligible for coverage by their own employers would be excluded from the UPS plan in 2014.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonvi...om-health.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/...h_news/3327357

[Comrade Crapski]

I feel so bad for all those Unionistas that voted for him.

It's breaking my heart.

[listopencil]

It's funny. Within the discussions about legalizing gay marriage on here a few issues will pop up. Mostly about gay couples being given the same preferential treatments that heterosexual married couples receive. I wonder what will happen first, gay couples being given those benefits or those benefits being eliminated for all?

[seaofred]

Originally Posted by listopencil

It's funny. Within the discussions about legalizing gay marriage on here a few issues will pop up. Mostly about gay couples being given the same preferential treatments that heterosexual married couples receive. I wonder what will happen first, gay couples being given those benefits or those benefits being eliminated for all?

That is a very good question...

[FD]

This is the start of a trend we will see over the next few years. One of the big cost control measures in Obamacare is that it partially rolls back the incentives for businesses to give unionized employees so-called "cadillac" or "gold plated" health care plans.

Unions complained a lot about this in 2009 but ultimately supported Obamacare out of a sense of loyalty and hope they could change things later. Expect to see a lot of complaints and lobbying against this part of Obamacare by big unions in the coming year.

Congress shouldn't give in, though, its a good provision for controlling costs and it was also part of Paul Ryan's health care proposal.

[Comrade Crapski]

Good intentions.... road to hell....

when will Moonbats learn this?

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by FD

This is the start of a trend we will see over the next few years. One of the big cost control measures in Obamacare is that it partially rolls back the incentives for businesses to give unionized employees so-called "cadillac" or "gold plated" health care plans.

Unions complained a lot about this in 2009 but ultimately supported Obamacare out of a sense of loyalty and hope they could change things later. Expect to see a lot of complaints and lobbying against this part of Obamacare by big unions in the coming year.

Congress shouldn't give in, though, its a good provision for controlling costs and it was also part of Paul Ryan's health care proposal.

The thing is, as far as I know, insurance is supposed to get cheaper when a plan covers more and more people. Over time the averages play out and the plan takes advantage of the fact that people tend to be healthy more often than sick. You can argue about preventative care and whether it helps defray larger costs down the line, but preventative care is treated differently by the insurance companies and they will (to a degree) tailor individual policies even within the workforce of a specific company. So..if all that is true...why would a company want to eliminate participants in their sponsored plans other than to get out of paying a share of the premiums? I don't think this is necessarily a case of getting rid of a "gold plated" plan so much as just a company cutting corners with "Obamacare" giving them a reason to stop paying.

[WilliamTheIrish]

I know of a hospital company (own 28 hospitals coast to coast, most in CA), that dropped spouses from the plan starting in 06. You can keep them on the plan at the cost of $200 per month.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Clarification: $200 additional per month.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by FD

This is the start of a trend we will see over the next few years. One of the big cost control measures in Obamacare is that it partially rolls back the incentives for businesses to give unionized employees so-called "cadillac" or "gold plated" health care plans.

Unions complained a lot about this in 2009 but ultimately supported Obamacare out of a sense of loyalty and hope they could change things later. Expect to see a lot of complaints and lobbying against this part of Obamacare by big unions in the coming year.

Congress shouldn't give in, though, its a good provision for controlling costs and it was also part of Paul Ryan's health care proposal.

I think this is being done to reduce UPS's contribution to the health insurance plan only. They're only dropping spouses if they work somewhere else and are eligible for a health plan through their employer.

[FD]

Originally Posted by listopencil

The thing is, as far as I know, insurance is supposed to get cheaper when a plan covers more and more people. Over time the averages play out and the plan takes advantage of the fact that people tend to be healthy more often than sick. You can argue about preventative care and whether it helps defray larger costs down the line, but preventative care is treated differently by the insurance companies and they will (to a degree) tailor individual policies even within the workforce of a specific company. So..if all that is true...why would a company want to eliminate participants in their sponsored plans other than to get out of paying a share of the premiums? I don't think this is necessarily a case of getting rid of a "gold plated" plan so much as just a company cutting corners with "Obamacare" giving them a reason to stop paying.

I think you are possibly right, since there is a long term trend towards this sort of thing, and companies just might be saying "Obamacare!" as a sort of free pass on rolling back benefits.

But generally Obamacare does encourage this. Also, UPS is one of the largest employers in the country and dropping a subset of employee spouses shouldn't impact their ability to share risk efficiently. There are just rapidly diminishing returns here.

[BucEyedPea]

Ha! Ha! C'ya folks!

[Frazod]

What can Brown do for you?

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by frazod

What can Brown do for you?

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Comrade Crapski

I feel so bad for all those Unionistas that voted for him.

It's breaking my heart.

Republicans believe that corporations should be able to cut any and all costs to show additional profit to stock holders. They don't give a **** about you either. We're ****ed. Blame left, blame right, and when you're ready to fix it, blame your ****ing self. We're the ones that vote these ****ing clown puppets into office in the first place. Same as it ever was. Same as, it, ever, was...