Comair Health Benefits

[jarhead]

Thanks for the replies. I interview on Tuesday.

Good luck! Comair is a great place to work. I just wanted to be up front with you about some disention in the ranks about the medical insurance. It's a big enough issue where the union leadership is looking into it as a possible violation of the pilot's contract. Nothing is perfect, but that said, I think you'll like Comair if you go to work there.

 

[rvsm410]

Are the medical and dental bennies the same for non pilot employees, ie dispatchers?? when do they start after hire date?

It sounds like a very good plan compared to mine...my root canal just cost me 50% or $550 buck out of pocket...we have a yearly overage limit of $2000 as well......

 

[chperplt]

Benefits start on day 31 of employment..

Jarhead,

Dental benefits didn't change at all. You can pick any dentist you want on the Metlife provider list. If you want a dentist not on the list, they will pay 80% of the normally 100% items. I haven't found a dentist yet not on the list.

As far as people not taking the Comair insurance.. I highly doubt that. The insurance card says Blue Cross on it, not Comair. I've never had it turned down.

 

[jarhead]

Chperplt,

Perhaps my son’s bad experience with a dentist a couple weeks ago was a fluke. I hope so. He has always had good dental health, so he may not have a “regular” dentist to do work when he did need a filling. I’m sure we all can relate a horror story about a white knuckle episode in a dentist chair.

I base my other observations upon “scuttlebutt” I read about the discontent with the change in medical insurance off the CMR BB. I believe Cory has asked for pilots to document their experiences with problems with the new medical plan so they can build a case, if it has merit. I know you read the boards over there……I see your name over there, and you certainly must be aware of a growing discontent since the change in insurance.

I have no first hand knowledge of course, but it perplexes me as to why there seems to be a growing discontent with the out of pocket costs from last year to what is going on now. My anecdote about physicians refusing to accept Comair pilots as patients due to being stiffed or extreme slow payments of bills, is from various postings on those boards. Were they lies?

Are these guys all malcontents? Or might there be fire where there is smoke? It seems to be a rising “issue”. That’s all I was trying to point out to the thread starter.

 

[ShaftedbyJI]

Here's a question: If you don't work for comair then how the heck do you get on the comair alpa board????? shafted

 

[DDpaysoff]

It's fine

Just Don't get sick.

 

[wrigley23]

Just Don't get sick.

Amen brother. Don't get sick and brush your teeth and you're pretty much golden. Look, if you have to go to a doctor for anything other than your medical, be prepared to get screwed. I pay close to $1000 out of pocket a year just to make Oklahoma happy and every insurance I've had in the past six years has laughed at me when I send in my claim. I haven't had an issue in 23 years and the Feds are still hounding me. Oops, went on a rant. Never had to use Comair's benefits much, but from what I've seen, a very good deal indeed.

 

[jarhead]

deleted........

 

[chperplt]

Jarhead,

The reason people on the ALPA boards (pilots) are bitching about the new insurance is simple.. Our contract states that the company cannot switch insurance companies unless the new insurance is very similar. The United Heathcare coversage paid 100% for things like labs and Xrays and paid more for hospital visits. The Blue Cross plan while still overall a good plan, is more expensive than the previous plan and a violation of our contract.

The union is asking us to send in specifics examples of out of pocket expense increases so they will have an easier time grieving it.

For people new to Comair, these are very good benefits. For people switching from United Healthcare, they may suck. You get use to not paying much of anything. It's a shock when you are forced into the real world.

 

[jarhead]

Chperplt,

I believe we are on the same page about this "issue". From what I can tell, the newer policy is percieved by those who had the previous plan, to be inferior to the newer and more expensive policy. If there were to be a "substantial" change in coverage or cost, I believe it would require the union's sanction to make such a change to the PWA in force now. Kind of like the "agreement" to freeze wages for two years. Ya can't just "do it" without input and agreement from the pilots or their representatives, or it would be a viloation of the contract.

I guess it might boil down to defining "substantial change"