Originally Posted by
hawkerpilot05
Does the Southwest no cost healthcare plan cover all your testing that was required for the cardiac board? I ask because I was told your no cost plan does not cover these additional test and are paid out of pocket. It was posted by one of our pilots that at NetJets our health insurance covered all the test with a very small out of pocket, less then $500. These test were a echocardiogram, in-lab sleep study, nuclear stress test, and radio frequency ablation. He said his buddy at Southwest had similar test but under their no cost health plan, cost him thousands of dollars of out of pocket expense. I find this hard to believe, so wonder how your experience has been?
Yes and no. I had a stent via catherization procedure, and then a second catherization (FAA required but out of normal medical standards). Both were covered by insurance but I still had to pay the deductible etc. At first, insurance denied both procedures and the AME, the union, and an outside consultant had to get involved to get it done. The good thing is that the Regular Plan has a max out of pocket limit of $2500 per year. There is a secondary cost from the AME for medical exam, paperwork to the Feds etc not covered by insurance (another $2K) which we can submit to the company directly for some alleged reimbursement, but I haven’t reached that point yet.
In any case, I’m guessing the subsequent Special Issuance stuff will have limited coverage by insurance, if any (stress tests etc).