Perfect, thanks Somarco!
ATT Cancels Retiree Health Plan
- Thread starter somarco
- Start date
Perfect, thanks Somarco!
serendipity
New Member
- 14
The three dental carrier plans on AON site (Renaisance, Delta & AARP) are actually third party sites and not actually offered by AON. The cost of these plans would be most of your HRA dollars. The limited Medicare Advantage dental, where it exists, is cleaning & checkup only. AT&T has eliminated it's Cigna Dental, without any compensation to an HRA for dental, unfortunately without ever stating this. As an example, spousal HRA is $1500, comparable AARP dental is $1600. Retirees will have to pay their dental out of pocket, possibly with a non insurance dental discount plan. Retirees need remember the original medical contribution by AT&T was capped in 1989 at $8,500 (for Medical & Drugs), and the Medicare Part B reimbursement was capped at $45 per month. The spousal Part B was eliminated in 1998. That was significantly greater then the computed HRA for 2015 which has $0 dollars for Dental and Vision.
- Thread starter
- #123
serendipity
New Member
- 14
AT&T currently charges $28 per month premium on 2 person Cigna Dental for total of $336 annual. There is also a $50 deductible per person and coverage is $1300 per person annual out network. In network coverage is $1700 per person. The non insurance dental discount plans run from $139-$189 for 2 person coverage annually, but limit you to in network only. The big savings for major dental is a discounted plan crown actualy costs less then amount you owe after Cigna pays 50% with a regular plan. Marketplace plans are to expensive to justfy the cost and have dollar caps. For someone needing extensive work, best bet is a discount plan which is unlimited as far as visits or work. The savings on discounted crowns is comparable to 50% insurance on non discounted crowns, without the caps.
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- #125
Since that plan was eliminated it makes this a moot point, right?
Have you ever looked at the dentists that participate in these discount plans? There is no oversight at all. Claims are not submitted for repricing. A dentist is allowed to bill whatever then "discount" their fee by X amount. They can also upsell you on procedures you may not need.
serendipity
New Member
- 14
Actually the discounted plans by carrier, e.g. Cigna, Aetna, etc., list the allowable costs by procedure and the dentists applicable to each plan. The AT&T Cigna costs was merely to show that type of coverage is not available on open market and is being eliminated without compensation in your HRA. Not a problem except AT&T did that without acknowledging what they had done. 30 plus year retirees deserved better then that. They should have been told the truth. Using AON/Hewitt as a firewall between employee/retiree is a serious concern. I believe AT&T has made a mistake alienating 300K retirees and people they know with their handling of a sensitive issue, not the least of which are sins of omission.
- 1,199
What are they going to do? Resign?
There's a reason we are all self-employed
Before Towers Watson bought out Extend Health I was always able find out from the employer what the minimum requirement was for retirees to be able to keep employer stipend and still be able to use an outside agent however if my 3 way phone call today to Alcoa and then to One Exchange with a Alcoa retiree who is losing benefits 12/31/14 is any indication these exchanges are going to make it harder and harder for retirees to seek out real independent advice.
First the Alcoa HR/benefits rep, just like the ATT HR/benefits rep I spoke with about a ATT retiree said , that all the information on the HRA eligibility requirements is now the domain of One Exchange " health advisor agent ".When we called One Exchange to get this information they forwarded call to One Exchange agent.As retiree was giving the One Exchange agent permission to talk with me the One Exchange agent asked the retiree my full name, what relation i was to retiree and also if I was an agent. Surprisingly the retiree voluntarily covered for me and said that i wasn't an agent.When i was put on the phone with the One Exchange agent he again asked me if I was an agent then saying because if I was that he wouldn't be allowed to talk with me about the retirees benefit options. I don't see how they can preclude a retiree from having whoever they want to ask questions on their behalf on the phone with them they chose.To the One Exchange's agent credit after I fibbed and said I wasn't an agent he did plainly admit that either a med supp OR pdp purchase would qualify the retiree for the 650.00 deposit in the HRA.
Side note: this 94 year old lady's daughters were at the appointment with her today and when I explained that we need to get clarification on the HRA eligibility they said regardless of whether they have to forfeit the 650.00 stipend they still wanted to use me as their agent because of the issue's the have had trying to get information for One Exchange and also because they didn't feel comfortable buying insurance over the phone. Fortunetly they were able to have both.
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- #129
Looks like PepsiCo is doing the same thing. Just talked with a retiree from Tropicana (later bought by PepsiCo) that got a notice his health plan is going away. Has a conference next month with Towers to review benefits on OneExchange.
He is 85 years old and totally confused. PepsiCo is giving them money to buy their own plan. He couldn't remember how much or what it was for.
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Talked with a couple yesterday, retired ATT, pi$$ed about the change. They already knew they could buy Rx only and get the HRA $$.
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Google, I talked with an Alcoa retiree today. She is under the impression the HRA is one time, lump sum.
Correct or not?
He is 85 years old and totally confused. PepsiCo is giving them money to buy their own plan. He couldn't remember how much or what it was for.
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Talked with a couple yesterday, retired ATT, pi$$ed about the change. They already knew they could buy Rx only and get the HRA $$.
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Google, I talked with an Alcoa retiree today. She is under the impression the HRA is one time, lump sum.
Correct or not?
- 1,255
Keep in mind it is only the non union ALCOA Retiree's.
The Union benefits are untouchable. They already hammered out in court a long time ago.
Alcoa's non-union retiree health plan will end 2015, and coverage will move to plans from a variety of insurers through OneExchange. Medicare-eligible retirees will be able to choose from among 13 Medicare Advantage plans, 11 Medigap plans and 19 prescription plans, retirees said they were told. Vision and dental insurance is optional.
Retirees were told at a recent meeting that premiums for Medicare Advantage plans offered through OneExchange will range from zero to $224 a month; Medigap will range from $80 to $384; and Medicare Part D prescription coverage will range from $13 to $169 a month.
Makes that Union dues look like a real bargain!
The Union benefits are untouchable. They already hammered out in court a long time ago.
Alcoa's non-union retiree health plan will end 2015, and coverage will move to plans from a variety of insurers through OneExchange. Medicare-eligible retirees will be able to choose from among 13 Medicare Advantage plans, 11 Medigap plans and 19 prescription plans, retirees said they were told. Vision and dental insurance is optional.
Retirees were told at a recent meeting that premiums for Medicare Advantage plans offered through OneExchange will range from zero to $224 a month; Medigap will range from $80 to $384; and Medicare Part D prescription coverage will range from $13 to $169 a month.
Makes that Union dues look like a real bargain!
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