Savings for AAI Employees

[chase]

AAI announced that beginning in Jan 2012, their healthcare premiums will go down 55% on average for the two plans their employees can choose from. I'm not privy to how they differ from SWA's plans but regardless, there is more $$ in their pockets.

Additionally, under their current dental plan, they will not pay anything for that service beginning in Jan 2012.

I assume there is some cost for that service currently. Can anyone say what that is?

For SWA employees however, our out of pocket expenses for our healthcare coverage will be going up, 35% of the increase for 2012 will be covered by increased premiums to the employee and 65% will be covered by the company (SWA is a self-insured system with UHC administering the program). Healthcare costs for the US have gone up 220% since 2001.

Employees with families (versus employees only plans) will see the greatest increase; no specific %'s included.

Several takeaways:

1. AAI employees are seeing real dividends to the combining of SWA/AAI operations. Good thing.

2. SWA has one of the best healthcare plans among major corporations much less airlines. Good thing (it isn't perfect, getting UHC at times to pay is real challenge but SWAPA has great benefit experts who can help you run the wickets!)

3. Costs are rising and it merely illustrates that companies that can't afford good healthcare programs will simply cancel their programs (as they are doing according to multiple studies) and will sign up for Obamacare putting more pressure on the already over-taxed and inefficient government provided system.

4. US needs an incentive based healthcare system; major changes need to occur but Obamacare is not the answer since it will only guarantee the government will run healthcare choices in the future....when is having the government make choices for its citizens a good idea?:smash:

Sorry for the transition to political rant.

Hope everyone votes and makes a wise choice for the long-term health, physical and financial, for themselves and their families.

I look forward to flying with a lot of great ex-AAI crews and hopefully soon-to-be SWA crews in the future. :beer:

 

[Lear70]

Good Morning, Chase, hope all is well.

During our research on this, it was found that the vast majority of our pilots reside in the Select 10 and Select 20 health insurance plans, which are HMO's with a PPO's selection of doctors and no pre-certification requirement to seek a specialist. Our base HMO plan isn't all that great, and the Platinum PPO plan is excellent, but very expensive.

Overall, our insurance is good insurance, it's just expensive as crap. For me, single parent one child, it's nearly $300 per pay period. The SWA equivalent plan is nearly $200 per pay period less, so SWA management will be paying the equivalent percentage on our plan as they do on yours, bringing our monthly premiums down.

This will offset the additional 6% of my income I'll need to start contributing in January to get the 9.3% match in the 401(k) (varies between 4-6% more needed per pilot, only 40% of us we're contributing over 10% since we had a B-fund), so in terms monthly take-home pay it's a wash for 60% of AAI pilots, but at the end of next year, including the profit sharing, it'll work out MUCH better for our pilots (more money) which is why we allowed our DC plan to go away.

The Platinum PPO pilots will not see an offset, and this is where the majority of our increases in health costs come every year (it's for the people with critical illnesses in their family who will exceed the lifetime maximum benefit under the HMO and Select 10/20 plans and, therefore, the Platinum PPO plan is the most expensive to the company), but there are not many pilots in this program (the company would like to get rid of it but recognize the need of some of our pilots with sick children/spouses to be in it).

The whole package is most definitely a benefit, just wanted to explain more of it for our pilots who won't get a chance to get to the road show. Fly safe out there...