TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Note that regarding benefits, there's a growing trend by business to
"off" anybody not directly connected to the company.
My wife's engineering firm's policy is to NOT cover a spouse who has
coverage available at his or her employer. So I was forced off her plan
and am covered by Aetna via my agency. While on one hand, I don't mind
paying for some or all coverage, this plan sucks; I pay 100 percent of
my premium but am stuck with a prescription plan where I pay about 90
percent of the retail cost upfront at the point of purchase, then fax
the receipts to Aetna the next day and then have to wait about a month
for a 70 percent refund/reimbursement. (They already lost my paperwork
once and I waited 2 months for reimbursement.)
That little $20 co-pay or $40 co-pay is nothing when compared to a REAL
out-of-pocket of $100 for cholesterol or bp medication. Every month.
Times more than one medication.
Hell, we take this stuff because we MUST, not because we want to.
When I phoned Aetna about why they just don't do what EVERYBDOY else
does and handle it electronically at the point of purchase so that it
all evens out the same way anyway, they say it's because I'm "just a
temp" and people like me come and go too quickly to keep up with. I told
them that my longevity with any employer has NO bearing on their stupid
arrangement and that I'm certain that THEY don't have to suffer with the
same plan I'm stuck with. Reply: None.
So while Aetna CAN set it up to handle the addition and deletion of
individuals with basically a few keystrokes for an immediate discount at
the point of purchase and minimal overhead costs, they prefer to waste
time and money like crazy by having people collect hard copy
snail-mailed-in receipts or faxed-in receipts, then having folks
manually key all the data in, then mail out the paper checks.
This means it's MORE expensive to administer my plan than the
traditional plan you guys probably have.
So the next time you hear about the "rising cost of health care"
remember Aetna. Aetna also settled out of court about a year or two ago
in Georgia after a physicians' group here sued Aetna BIG-TIME for slow-
or no-pay. They settled, paid up but, as usual, admitted "no
wrongdoing".
My wife's healthcare provider, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, got into a snit
with Piedmont Hospital here in Atlanta and dropped the hospital and all
of its doctors during contract negotiation time for about a month last
summer, claiming that Piedmont wanted exorbitant increases, etc. As it
turns out, Piedmont has been rated and remains one of top hospitals in
the U.S. (not just the state of Georgia), and its costs were and are
among the LOWEST anywhere. It also turns out BCBC was just "posturing"
and caused mucho headaches (with us) and negative publicity.
BCBC eventually caved in, but the damage was done. Methinks LOTS of
folks may be urging their employers to SERIOUSLY consider other
healthcare providers next renewal time. Yeah, it could be another
healthcare company next time, but this is how it played out here.
Everybody has their own horror story and praise story, but these are
mine.
-- Kenpo
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+poshedlyk=polysius -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+poshedlyk=polysius -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of James Barrow
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 9:52 AM
To: 'TECHWR-L'
Subject: RE: Negotiating
>Al Geist said:
>>Sharon Burton wrote:
(some stuff snipped)
>Of course, all my medical/dental/vision benefits are through my wife's
>employer which keeps down the expenses.
Same here.
(more stuff snipped)
__________________________
This e-mail message and any attachment contains private
and confidential information and is intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible
for delivery of the message to such person), please do not read, copy, use or disclose this communication to others.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message, and then delete it from your system.
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
