JBLU Health Insurance?

[mannyaplus11]

Manny -- good to hear she's doing well. Been quite a year for you. Man we need to booze it up again, er I mean go to church or the library like I always do on layovers.

:beer:

GIDDY UP!!!!!!!

 

[zkmayo]

UHC thru JB runs $118/check or 236/mo. for a family. You pay 10% out of pocket. We just had our second child a few months back and it cost only about $800 out of pocket. Our first cost $2000 under my wife's old insurance from her old job.

Many may bash the insurance, but i dont think its bad. UHC handles claims quickly and accurately. While I may pay 236/mo, JB pays 5 times that as we are self-insured. Yes, there is room for improvement though with deductibles and I hope to see 401k match upped too.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

UHC thru JB runs $118/check or 236/mo. for a family. You pay 10% out of pocket. We just had our second child a few months back and it cost only about $800 out of pocket. Our first cost $2000 under my wife's old insurance from her old job.

Many may bash the insurance, but i dont think its bad. UHC handles claims quickly and accurately. While I may pay 236/mo, JB pays 5 times that as we are self-insured. Yes, there is room for improvement though with deductibles and I hope to see 401k match upped too.

The problem isn't that it's adequate, zk, it's that compared to some of the airlines that are hiring (or recalling ... ouch) jb health care is yet another lagging benefit. Yeah, I know CAL no health care for six months, so don't anyone remind me. But as for swa, fedex, purple -- and I bet even most of the legacies that have been recalling -- they all have cheaper and more comprehensive health care plans.

Now, if jb had a choice: better health care or a 5-6% 401k match, I would want the match. But we all know that isn't gonna happen. Why not ask on Friday's pocket session?

 

[1Speedbird]

What is everyone elses plan like? When its about Jetblue you get 1000 posts but when its about health plans for everyone you get 0 post. I asked this question a while back to compare and got no response, of course I did not mention Jetblue.
So.... What does everybody else get?

 

[zkmayo]

I guess my point was that, when compared to other non-aviation jobs out there, our hc plan aint so bad. Again, Im not saying it couldnt be alot better, but I think alot of people need to take a look around and see that we have it alot better than alot of john and jane q public out there. many people are stuck in the myopic view that the airline world is the way it is/way it should be as far as benefits go.

 

[Truckdriver]

I'm at a regional airline and I have a BCBS 90% PPO plan with no deductible. It costs me $160 per month. $20 co-pay per office visit. $100 co-pay per ER visit. $250 co-pay per hospital stay. I then pay 10% of what the insurance company approves, not what the doctor bills, for some stuff but not everything. I also just had a child and it cost me about $500. Ours happens to be cheaper than most because our pilot group is insured seperatley from the other employees and we have a very young demographic from what I've been told. JBLU isn't that bad compared to the average company out there (my sister is a nurse and they charge her $500/mo!) and this was not the intent of my original post. I just wanted to know what I was going to pay knowing that it would be more than what I currently pay. I always seem to get bad JBLU posts going for some reason and I'm honestly not trying to do that.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

No copay at jb and my kids each get a free sticker from their doc. How's that for the jb experience!

 

[SNOWBUM]

the 401k problem will only be an issue if workers don't contribute to it. in my current company more than 1/2 the crews make more than 95k a year and a lot don't contribute to the 401k, and we still don't have a problem with it. the company did misscalculated it and then have to re-deposit the money in the 401ks, but it is a difficult thing to happen , specially if most everyone puts at least 10% on it. ( if you don't you are either very rich or very stupid, since a 10% 401k contribution is less than 8% "paycut").

 

[SNOWBUM]

ppo $79?

caveman, the $79 for you and the boss is a PPO?what about vision and dental?

thanks

 

[Dangerkitty]

HSA is another story. I wouldn't call that insurance.

What would you call it then? HSA's are the wave of the future. Making a statement such as that shows you really dont know what you are talking about.

 

[SNOWBUM]

the only way to go is socialize medicine with add on insurance like in europe (don't confuse it with wellfare state medicine of canada, 2 different systems).

health care should never be a for profit enterprise.that's like trying to make the military a for profit corporation. not a good idea.

 

[miles otoole]

the only way to go is socialize medicine with add on insurance like in europe (don't confuse it with wellfare state medicine of canada, 2 different systems).

health care should never be a for profit enterprise.that's like trying to make the military a for profit corporation. not a good idea.

And some doctors shouldn't make 300k a year. LOL. 24 year old Sorority girl college grad drug reps regularly make 80K a year hawking.....drugs. The marketing budgets of the pharmas would make you sick to your stomach. The Pfizer CEO just left with a $90 million pension. Health care shouldn't be for profit? It is, and it always will be, only worse.

 

[Bake]

SWA PPO costs me just under 60 a month for a family of 5. $7 dollar co pay for prescibes, $15 copay to see a doc, $25 for specialists, $100 for emergency. Don't know about dental and vision, its offered but I don't use it.

 

[Blue Dude]

health care should never be a for profit enterprise.

OK, I'll bite. Why not? Should health care providers not be paid for their efforts? Or should they be paid only on a government pay scale? When all health care is "managed" by bureaucrats, what do you think that will do to innovation and the quality of health care?

One last question: besides constitutionally designated entities such as the military, is there any function that is better handled by government than by private enterprise? Any at all?

 

[8vATE]

The problem isn't that it's adequate, zk, it's that compared to some of the airlines that are hiring (or recalling ... ouch) jb health care is yet another lagging benefit. Yeah, I know CAL no health care for six months, so don't anyone remind me. But as for swa, fedex, purple -- and I bet even most of the legacies that have been recalling -- they all have cheaper and more comprehensive health care plans.

You're stretching there Chef..

Comparing a 6 year old LCC to FDX and 35 year now dominant SWA is a far stretch.
And which legacy not in bankruptcy are your referring to? CAL and AMR?
Unfortunately, the story may not be over for them either.

And have you looked at UAL + USAirways health care numbers recently?
Put them on the board for all to see!

I believe JetBlue's coverage would fall in the overall average.
Nothing to write home about for sure...

Room for improvement..
Yes..

But the money has to come from somewhere....

 

[8vATE]

24 year old Sorority girl college grad drug reps regularly make 80K a year hawking.....drugs. The marketing budgets of the pharmas would make you sick to your stomach.

They do look awfully cute and perky when they come in to the waiting room with their roll-a-long bag.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

You're stretching there Chef..

Comparing a 6 year old LCC to FDX and 35 year now dominant SWA is a far stretch.
And which legacy not in bankruptcy are your referring to? CAL and AMR?
Unfortunately, the story may not be over for them either.

And have you looked at UAL + USAirways health care numbers recently?
Put them on the board for all to see!

I believe JetBlue's coverage would fall in the overall average.
Nothing to write home about for sure...

Room for improvement..
Yes..

But the money has to come from somewhere....

Sorry, you are right. We have it made! Now if only most of us were willing to wait until jb turns 35 to see the payoff. That is actually my point. Take it separately and yeah maybe it's average (but don't kid yourself, it's below average compared to fedex, ups, and swa -- why is that pertinent? BECAUSE THEY ARE HIRING). Add it up with the rest of our benefits and what do you get? A retention problem. Especially if some airlines start recalling.

As for the 6 year old argument, I stopped believing in that after my last IROP (and the one before that, and the one before that etc etc). We could be 30 years old and people at blue would be talking about "growing pains."

Things need to change at jb and I hope they do. But you are right, where does the money come from? ESPECIALLY since we "charge according to cost and not what the market will bear." That one kills me. As a crewmember I understand our pricing philosophy, but as a shareholder I am offended that we won't try to eke out as much profit as possible. So if the money ain't coming from fares, where will it come from?

 

[Bavarian Chef]

You're stretching there Chef..

Comparing a 6 year old LCC to FDX and 35 year now dominant SWA is a far stretch.
And which legacy not in bankruptcy are your referring to? CAL and AMR?
Unfortunately, the story may not be over for them either.

And have you looked at UAL + USAirways health care numbers recently?
Put them on the board for all to see!

I believe JetBlue's coverage would fall in the overall average.
Nothing to write home about for sure...

Room for improvement..
Yes..

But the money has to come from somewhere....

Sorry, you are right. We have it made! Now if only most of us were willing to wait until jb turns 35 to see the payoff. That is actually my point. Take it separately and yeah maybe it's average (but don't kid yourself, it's below average compared to fedex, ups, and swa -- why is that pertinent? BECAUSE THEY ARE HIRING). Add it up with the rest of our benefits and what do you get? A retention problem. Especially if some airlines start recalling.

As for the 6 year old argument, I stopped believing in that after my last IROP (and the one before that, and the one before that etc etc). We could be 30 years old and people at blue would be talking about "growing pains."

Things need to change at jb and I hope they do. But you are right, where does the money come from? ESPECIALLY since we "charge according to cost and not what the market will bear." That one kills me. As a crewmember I understand our pricing philosophy, but as a shareholder I am offended that we won't try to eke out as much profit as possible. So if the money ain't coming from fares, where will it come from?

 

[Bavarian Chef]

sorry for the double post.

 

[JethroF15]

sorry for the double post.

No problem. Nothing like a good point posted twice
No problem. Nothing like a good point posted twice

 

[Snoopy Mendoza]

the 401k problem will only be an issue if workers don't contribute to it. in my current company more than 1/2 the crews make more than 95k a year and a lot don't contribute to the 401k, and we still don't have a problem with it. the company did misscalculated it and then have to re-deposit the money in the 401ks, but it is a difficult thing to happen , specially if most everyone puts at least 10% on it. ( if you don't you are either very rich or very stupid, since a 10% 401k contribution is less than 8% "paycut").

Is the pilot group tested seperately?

At jetBlue we are not. The problem may arise because those employees who are NHCE don't contribute enough as a groups to keeps the HCE titled plan in balance.

Sorry for the thread creep.