Health Insurance

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Not related, but related, there is a young guy on my staff at work, and the rest are old(er). He really needs insurance, but he is one that I have been ordered to keep under 30 hours a week, the new IRS definition of "fulltime", where, I guess, doo-doo sets in for employers. I have been under the gun for three months to cut his hours and to not let him know he will be way cut back in the Summer.

I came in yesterday and the GM said, "BTW, I want you to keep ---- on 30 hours, but just 30 hours, because we need him in our "group plan" (to lower the premium).

It's a strange, strange world that we live in, Master Jack.

The biggest problem that I have with this is "Don't Tell Him". This is where companies screw peoples lives for their own gain.

We need him, but we don't want to treat him like a valued employee, so let's not tell him that we're going to screw him over until he finds out that we are screwing him over ...

as for a part-timer needed for group plan, I ... I .... I do not understand. how can someone deemed ineligible be eligible to be counted.

This is the kind of crap that will cause me to quit patronizing businesses doing this to people. We need him to lower Our Costs, but we don't care about him as a person at all, we just need him to do the job and get out at 30 hours.

grrrrrrrr

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The biggest problem that I have with this is "Don't Tell Him". This is where companies screw peoples lives for their own gain.

We need him, but we don't want to treat him like a valued employee, so let's not tell him that we're going to screw him over until he finds out that we are screwing him over ...

as for a part-timer needed for group plan, I ... I .... I do not understand. how can someone deemed ineligible be eligible to be counted.

This is the kind of crap that will cause me to quit patronizing businesses doing this to people. We need him to lower Our Costs, but we don't care about him as a person at all, we just need him to do the job and get out at 30 hours.

grrrrrrrr

First, all companies are now "doing that to people." Eliminate all companies because they are all doing that kinda crap or some other equally unfriendly kinda crap. Me, at work, I just have to follow my marching orders. There is no "if you want to."

Second, back to the topic, I found out that there is a 63-day grace period on insurance premiums, so if you don't pay one, and then need the insurance, you have 63 days to pay. I was told that's Fed law, but I have not researched it. I will.

So, I went to our account on Golden Rule/United Health's website, selected payments, and selected "edit EFT", and guess what? "That Page is Not Available". I called, waded through their menu, selected Payments, selected Edit EFT, and got disconnected.

I called again, and pressed 0 until I got a real person. I switched to paper billing, for which there is a $10 fee, discontinued autodraft, and was assured they will not take any more from our checking account, and was told they have a 31-day grace period. So, when we don't pay them, maybe I will give them another cance, if by some mis-step, we are not already with someone else.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Second, back to the topic, I found out that there is a 63-day grace period on insurance premiums, so if you don't pay one, and then need the insurance, you have 63 days to pay. I was told that's Fed law, but I have not researched it. I will.

I'm not finding any more than 30 days.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

First, all companies are now "doing that to people." Eliminate all companies because they are all doing that kinda crap or some other equally unfriendly kinda crap.

Disagree, they are not all greedy bastards. I work for a fine company that is successful, growing, and is serious about keeping good people. The benefits are great and at least once per year there is an Employee Appreciation Event that not only gives us the day off paid, but transports us (casino last time, we think theme park is next for this summer), offers unlimited food and beverages (incl alcohol) and also gives us a gift card ($200-300). Christmas parties aren't lame, either, and involve a paid half day off with fun and games, including food, beverages and prizes, and always, a gift card ($200).

Their giving a damn extends to making sure that folks get into cabs vs behind the wheel. they give cash to the cabbie so drunken employees don't have to figure out how to pay the fare.

Some companies do realize that it is the employees that make them succeed or fail, and aside from the actual work being interesting and challenging, the atmosphere is one of cooperation vs dept pitted against dept. this is one of those rare places where it seems that everyone is on the same team.

We are a work hard/play hard organization and because we are all on the same team, there aren't secrets, there isn't Them vs Us. There is plenty I don't need to know, but it is all open to me for the asking.

I've been here 2 years, long enough for the rosy glow to subside.

Let's try to not paint all with the same brush. Walmart sucks, for sure, but look at Costco. retail does not have to mean screw your employees.

[timber Banned Find all posts View Profile Close timber]

But I think there are very few companies like your's, who really do care about their employees and try to facilitate them with all the benefits and allowance they need to. But in general the main motto of an employer is just to maximize his profits and no matter what employees are getting out of it.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

and I hope those companies learn the hard way that without good people, the profits may not be sustainable.

I advocate voting with your wallets. I won't shop Walmart, won't own their stock. I've been this way for a long time about them and every so often some new piece of crap about them reaffirms my decision to avoid them. Child labor, anyone???

Pissed off that jobs are going offshore? then don't buy what they are building there. I am crossing off my list those companies that have already publicly whined about Obamacare and made public declarations of "I will cut everyone's hours!" Too bad, I kinda liked Applebee's new menu ... but no more will I give them my money.

If screwing over The American People is how a company is going to make money, they aren't going to make it off of me.

If people continue to just let things happen, they will continue to happen. If instead you avoid adding to profits of those screwing over your neighbors' jobs/lives, YOUR livelihood, then maybe the message will be sent.

I don't want to do business with people I don't like or respect. It may be inconvenient at times, but I'd rather live by my own code than make things easy.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I didn't realize Costco has only fulltime employees.

FWIW, for years I not done business with people who I know don't do business properly. (wastegate)

Anyone hear something?

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

you mean the sound of shock, that you would bypass This One Time Opportunity???

In my younger days I didn't have the same opportunities and have worked for con men and bullies. Now that I have a choice, I will not do it. There is no salary high enough.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I didn't realize Costco has only fulltime employees.

FWIW, for years I have not done business with people who I know don't do business properly. (wastegate)

Anyone hear something?

edited for grammar

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

It has been mentioned in this thread that there are many instances where new customers get a better deal, that introductory deal offered only to new customers to lure them in to a company's "boil a bullfrog" rate increase scheme. It seems like so many employ that pricing policy . . . insurance, TV, Phone, Internet, etc.

Is there a reasonable reason to be loyal to service providers any more? Don't they all do the same thing? Don't you think they figure the bulk of their customers will not take the time and effort to jump ship? A momentum thing, probably, so that a person at rest will tend to stay at rest.

Is there anyone here that actually jumps every few years to get the reduced rates as a new customer, like, say DISH to DIRECTV or vice versa? If you do, how long is it before you will be considered a new customer with the old provider, so you can jump back?

We dumped Comcast/Xfinity last March and when we came back this year we got their $62 Internet for $25.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Disagree, they are not all greedy bastards. I work for a fine company that is successful, growing, and is serious about keeping good people. The benefits are great and at least once per year there is an Employee Appreciation Event that not only gives us the day off paid, but transports us (casino last time, we think theme park is next for this summer), offers unlimited food and beverages (incl alcohol) and also gives us a gift card ($200-300). Christmas parties aren't lame, either, and involve a paid half day off with fun and games, including food, beverages and prizes, and always, a gift card ($200).

Their giving a damn extends to making sure that folks get into cabs vs behind the wheel. they give cash to the cabbie so drunken employees don't have to figure out how to pay the fare.

Some companies do realize that it is the employees that make them succeed or fail, and aside from the actual work being interesting and challenging, the atmosphere is one of cooperation vs dept pitted against dept. this is one of those rare places where it seems that everyone is on the same team.

We are a work hard/play hard organization and because we are all on the same team, there aren't secrets, there isn't Them vs Us. There is plenty I don't need to know, but it is all open to me for the asking.

I've been here 2 years, long enough for the rosy glow to subside.

Let's try to not paint all with the same brush. Walmart sucks, for sure, but look at Costco. retail does not have to mean screw your employees.

Off-topic, but a good topic for a new thread.

IMHO, very, very few companies are in a situation, or structure, to be very employee-friendly. Not many are headquartered in Shangrila, for instance!

In my two cases, both companies I worked for are in tourist areas, for seasonal customers and tourists, an industry that has traditionally been employee-unfriendly and has been under $$$ constraints that past few years. Additionally, it is in a specific type of business that has been employee-unfriendly in most folks' way of thinking.

One company is private, closely held, and under severe financial constraints because of the recession, as in bleeding money with no end in sight.

The other is very solvent, member-owned, and is actually paying employees more now than ever, but I was called in because their Board of Directors (ie, those members) were tired of the employees having the run the place.

So, one can't be employee-friendly because the $$$'s not there and the other was fed with with the employees taking advantage of their perks.

In both cases, I'm happy to be there, because I love the environment, and it is my choice to accept what is offered. It is also not about $$$ with me any more, having chased the elusive carrot long enough, and gotten quite a few bites of it along the way.

Like I said, nice topic for a thread that's not about Health Insurance, and related topics.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

Is there anyone here that actually jumps every few years to get the reduced rates as a new customer, like, say DISH to DIRECTV or vice versa? If you do, how long is it before you will be considered a new customer with the old provider, so you can jump back?

We've never been regular TV watchers but used to sign up with cable companies now and again for one reason or another. Then we'd review six months or a year later (whenever the initial agreement was up), realize we weren't watching enough TV to justify it, and bail again. They'd start sending us offers surprisingly quick once we'd signed off - within a month -- and the offers would keep getting better until they were up to new customer levels in six months to a year. I would guess that cable companies are more motivated to sign you up than the dish guys, though.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Off-topic, but a good topic for a new thread.

IMHO, very, very few companies are in a situation, or structure, to be very employee-friendly. Not many are headquartered in Shangrila, for instance!

In my two cases, both companies I worked for are in tourist areas, for seasonal customers and tourists, an industry that has traditionally been employee-unfriendly and has been under $$$ constraints that past few years. Additionally, it is in a specific type of business that has been employee-unfriendly in most folks' way of thinking.

One company is private, closely held, and under severe financial constraints because of the recession, as in bleeding money with no end in sight.

The other is very solvent, member-owned, and is actually paying employees more now than ever, but I was called in because their Board of Directors (ie, those members) were tired of the employees having the run the place.

So, one can't be employee-friendly because the $$$'s not there and the other was fed with with the employees taking advantage of their perks.

In both cases, I'm happy to be there, because I love the environment, and it is my choice to accept what is offered. It is also not about $$$ with me any more, having chased the elusive carrot long enough, and gotten quite a few bites of it along the way.

Like I said, nice topic for a thread that's not about Health Insurance, and related topics.

Correcting "fed" to "fed-up"

BTW, my job is to get the staff to do the work they have not been forced to do, so have not done, for at least the last seven years. It's quite a challenge.

None of them are being asked to do anything I am not doing right along with them. They, basically, are just not used to doing the job the way it should be done, and the way it is done everywhere.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I called again, and pressed 0 until I got a real person. I switched to paper billing, for which there is a $10 fee, discontinued autodraft, and was assured they will not take any more from our checking account, and was told they have a 31-day grace period. So, when we don't pay them, maybe I will give them another chance, if by some mis-step, we are not already with someone else.

So, it looks like we will have free health insurance for April, as long as we don't need it. That's the plan we've been wanting all along . . . if we need it, we will pay you, and if we don't need it, we won't.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Anyone had any experence with Assurant Health?

Instead of having a deductible, there is a very extensive network and each service provided is discount. Then the benefit amount is deducted from that. What is left is what you pay.

Also, the network includes a myriad of providers. Within 100 miles here in Florida, more than 10,000 doctors, 92 hospitals, beaucoup Urgent Care Centers, plus nursing homes, rehab centers, etc. So, it's not a limited healthcare program.

For instance, if you had a broken arm and the total cost is $4000, it is discounted 40% to $2400. The benefit is $2000, so the out-of-pocket is $400.

. . . as opposed to having a deductible of, let's say, $10,000. In that case, nothing would be paid for by insurance, so you would have to pay the entire discounted amount, $2400.

Follow all that?