Pilots and obomacare

[paid4training]

If 75 hrs a month is the quarantee hrs monthly, does that mean the companies can cancel exsisting health coverage and throw everyone into that Gawd awful exchange?

 

[johnsonrod]

If 75 hrs a month is the quarantee hrs monthly, does that mean the companies can cancel exsisting health coverage and throw everyone into that Gawd awful exchange?

What do you mean? Obama says it is wonderful! And since many pilots voted for him, everything should be OK...

God bless!

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Who knows, I am based in SFO and get free basic health care, have had it for the last 5+ years! it's the exact same plan that I had in other domiciles except its free. It's the best benefit SKYW provides, thanks San Francisco!

 

[ackattacker]

Before "Oboma Care" (sic) they could just cancel your insurance anyway since there was no requirement that employers provide health insurance for anybody. They did it because employees demanded/negotiated it. That hasn't changed.

That said, my understanding of the ACA definition of full time is working an average of 30 hours or more per week. It doesn't matter how you are paid, hourly, salary, commission, etc. Per this definition, it is duty time that matters and almost all airline pilots would be considered full time.

 

[General Lee]

Who knows, I am based in SFO and get free basic health care, have had it for the last 5+ years! it's the exact same plan that I had in other domiciles except its free. It's the best benefit SKYW provides, thanks San Francisco!

Does Uncle Stan live in SFO too? I knew it!


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[wmuflyguy]

If 75 hrs a month is the quarantee hrs monthly, does that mean the companies can cancel exsisting health coverage and throw everyone into that Gawd awful exchange?

What does your contract say? If it says nothing or you do not have a contract, prior to the ACA they could have dumped you into the "free market" anyway. Why would they start now?

 

[Northern Lights]

Somehow as a regional FO with a school teacher wife, we would make too much to receive a subsidy. According to my state exchange's web site we would have to Pay about $885/month for a "silver" plan, not including a high deductible. Not sure how we could afford what is essentially another mortgage payment on top of what we already pay for everything else.

 

[CesnaCaptn]

Somehow as a regional FO with a school teacher wife, we would make too much to receive a subsidy. According to my state exchange's web site we would have to Pay about $885/month for a "silver" plan, not including a high deductible. Not sure how we could afford what is essentially another mortgage payment on top of what we already pay for everything else.

Do you actually have to make "what is essentially another mortgage payment," or are you just writing hypothetically? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that your airline provides you with health insurance and your spouse's school district offers her health insurance. If you're lucky, you can choose the better of the two or own double coverage.

I'm trying to figure out what your post adds to this conversation.

 

[Northern Lights]

My mortgage is $920/month. If I had to go on the exchange I would be paying another $885/month plus deductible, so yes, it would be about the same as a second mortgage payment. Already paying nearly $1000/month for daycare, so those paychecks get eaten up quickly. I'm glad that I don't have to be on the exchange, but calling it the "Affordable Care Act" is laughable.

Since the ACA went in to effect our own insurance has gotten way more expensive. We used to hardly pay anything ($59 per month for family). Now it is well in excess of that with much higher out of pocket maximums per year.

 

[CesnaCaptn]

My mortgage is $920/month. If I had to go on the exchange I would be paying another $885/month plus deductible, so yes, it would be about the same as a second mortgage payment. Already paying nearly $1000/month for daycare, so those paychecks get eaten up quickly. I'm glad that I don't have to be on the exchange, but calling it the "Affordable Care Act" is laughable.

Since the ACA went in to effect our own insurance has gotten way more expensive. We used to hardly pay anything ($59 per month for family). Now it is well in excess of that with much higher out of pocket maximums per year.

I was hesitant to respond to this. I'm not a fan of making political posts on an aviation board, but let me provoke some thought and ask a few questions.

May I suggest correlation does not imply causation. Unfortunately, we will never know what the alternative universe without the ACA would look like.

Are you certain that your healthcare premiums would not have risen without the ACA? I'm sorry that your premiums have risen "well in excess" of the $59 you used to pay. You really don't have solid proof for why your premiums have risen. I would consider that $59 premium an extremely generous benefit that was likely negotiated by a union. I'm willing to bet that management came to the union and said, "we can't afford to offer such generous benefits anymore. Look at all of these other government entities/private businesses that make their employees pay a much greater share of their healthcare premium."

Managements have always used current events to lower their costs, thus yours and my compensation. Remember that gem about UPS dropping spousal coverage? They said, "we believe your spouse should be covered by their own employer -- just as UPS has a responsibility to offer coverage to you, our employee." UPS used the ACA as an excuse to drop the spousal coverage. We have no way of knowing if that cut wasn't coming anyway (notice that it only affected nonunion employees). In order to "stay competitive" UPS managers were looking to cut costs. This was a softy--spouses still have coverage through their own company and UPS gets to lower its costs. I'm not aware if my company has ever offered spousal coverage. See, UPS was just dropping their benefit to "remain competitive." All of the legacies came to their pilots during BK over the last decade and said, "these pensions are killing us. In order to remain competitive, we need to lower your retirement benefit to (name your competitor of choice--SWA, B6, etc.)." During our next round of negotiations, management is sure to come to us and ask for some work rule change to increase our productivity and remain competitive with (name the current airline who is lowering the bar). And the cycle continues.

You wrote, "According to my state exchange's web site we would have to Pay about $885/month for a "silver" plan, not including a high deductible." Have you shopped for private insurance in years past? How much have plans comparable to today's silver plan cost in years leading up to the enactment of the ACA? This is the data point I would be most interested.

My CBA requires us to pay 20% of the airline's cost for health benefits. I have not seen a significant rise over years past.

 

[Northern Lights]

I'm not really trying to get too political either, which is why I refer to the "ACA" and not "Obamacare."

I was merely responding to the original poster's fears of being thrown in to the "awful exchange." (His words.)

I'm giving you my situation of if I had to use the state exchange. The cost calculator estimated 885 per month, which shocked me. I have not shopped for private insurance, but you can be certain that I would be looking at all options if it came to that. I am just showing MY EXAMPLE of what it would look like if I HAD to use the exchange, which is what the OP was concerned about.

Yes, I would say that we have excellent coverage right now, but it has gone up a lot in the past three years, and we have also changed plans about 3 times during that period. We were on my wife's Blue Cross, and then they dropped them because they were becoming too expensive. We then went to Health Partners, and then that was dropped for a different Heath Partners HRA plan. Anyway you look at it, the insurance is more expensive than it was 3 years ago. I'm quite certain that part of that is due to the ACA. We received letters from the school district and teacher's union explaining that the changes and cost increase was at least in part due to the mandates of the ACA.

Her district is also dropping all non-union part timers (para-professionals etc.) and having them use the exchange, because it is cheaper for the district of course.

I have had private insurance in the past. This was around 2006, before I was married, and was furloughed from airline work. I was able to get a basic plan from Blue Cross for about $85 per month. It didn't cover a lot of minor stuff, but that is fine. I had enough sense not to go to the doctor if I had a cold. If I had a major injury, illness or disease, the plan would have covered what I needed. Unfortunately those type of plans are no longer available, but it was perfect for me at the time.

I believe that a big part of the solution to the health care problems in this country is to really push HSAs. Young, healthy people could save up money, or buy cheap plans like my old Blue Cross one, and as you age and need more medical care, you could use those dollars to buy the services you need, or use it for more comprehensive coverage. If you are lucky and get old without needing a lot of expensive insurance or healthcare, those dollars would be available to you for retirement expenses etc.

Anyway, I think that's enough about that. Currently both my wife and I have insurance available as required by our employment contracts. It is highly unlikely that both employers would find a way to drop us. I just wanted to find out for myself what I would be dealing with if I had to go through the state exchange. Find out for yourself at http://www.mnsure.org.

 

[tico]

Do you actually have to make "what is essentially another mortgage payment," or are you just writing hypothetically? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that your airline provides you with health insurance and your spouse's school district offers her health insurance. If you're lucky, you can choose the better of the two or own double coverage.

I'm trying to figure out what your post adds to this conversation.

It is a dissmisable offense at Alaska Airlines to allow your spouse to be covered if he/she could be covered at their place of empoment.

 

[CesnaCaptn]

It is a dissmisable offense at Alaska Airlines to allow your spouse to be covered if he/she could be covered at their place of empoment.

Another display of how miserly this company is.

I wonder how prolific that policy is in this industry as well as others.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Does Uncle Stan live in SFO too? I knew it!


Bye Bye---General Lee

Its OK genny, your moms coverage will still include you and your necessary styrofoam hats. I do find it slightly interesting that you are obsessed, with aviation, since the psych meds preclude you from ever holding a medical.
But keep on keeping on, being the omnipresent d-bag on the aviation message boards is the constant in the universe, your version of the Unified Theory of Doochbaggery.