TonyC

Whether the 2015 TA passes or not, the monthly premiums we pay for Health Care Insurance in 2016 cannot be raised more than 6% from 1 year to the next. Therefore, the 2016 rates cannot be more than 106% of the 2015 rates.


If the TA passes, what percentage increase do you believe you will see in monthly premiums for the Buy-Up plan? Please specify which "tier" your estimate refers to, EE (Employee Only), EE+Ch (Employee plus Child/Children), EE+Sp (Employee plus spouse), or EE+Fam (Employee plus Family).


EXAMPLE:
After 2017, the increase will be limited to 10% year over year. So, the limits go 6%, ______, 10%, 10%, 10%, and so on. The answer to the above question fills in the blank.






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urinmyseat

Tony,

Trick question...We will not know until the company makes up some obscene inflated number.

I asked this question on the T&A web page. Their answer was that we would have some limp d1cked accounting firm verify the company's numbers.

Disclaimer: I may have paraphrased ALPA's response. but it is accurate.

Wait for the press release if this turd passes. It will probably read that the new CBA has helped cut costs another 10%

supercruiser

A component of this issue is the upcoming excise tax on healthcare insurance or Cadillac tax...seems worth a shoutout reminding all to consider participating in ALPA's Legislative Affairs effort to change that tax.

The pertinent portion of the email I received from ALPA is pasted below:

"ACA Excise Tax
The first attack is coming from a provision in the Affordable Care Act that, starting in 2018, will levy a 40% tax on the value of a health care plan that exceeds a certain threshold. Approximately 40% of ALPA pilots’ plans are projected to trigger this additional tax in 2018 and our Buy Up plan is projected to do so shortly thereafter. By 2022, all ALPA pilot plans will be triggering this tax. The current FDX TA, if ratified, will provide protection to FedEx pilots by retaining the entire value of any changes to our health plan that may be necessary to avoid this tax. While this protection was essential, it is preferable to have the tax repealed.

As medically certified pilots who fly the most challenging schedules in the world, affordable and comprehensive health care is not a luxury; it’s a necessity! Please contact your Congressman and respectfully ask for their support for H.R. 879 from Frank Guinta (R-NH) and H.R. 2050 from Joe Courtney (D-CT). These bills look to repeal the Affordable Care Act excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage. To complete the "Call to Action" and submit a letter directly to your Congressman, please click here."

neuro

Quick aside... As a military retiree do you still have to pay into company insurance plan to cover Tricare deductibles or can you keep premiums?

Raptor

You can go Tricare only. Takes an extra couple of steps/waiver.

Tricare meets the ACA requirements for having health care.

But, CDHP and Tricare looks like a good way to go if the TA passes.

TonyC

Hey, I like your paraphrase , but I think you missed the point of my question. I'm asking for a guess. Since it's not spelled out, I'm wondering what people are guessing their increase will be.

We've been used to the cost of premiums going up no more than 6% every year up until now. AFTER 2017, we're capped at no more than 10% increases per year. But since there is no cap or guarantee on 2017 costs, I'm wondering what others are using for their planning numbers. When you create that "What's in it for me?" spreadsheet, what numbers are you using for health care insurance cost in 2017?


I'm just looking for guesses. Wild guesses are OK, educated guesses are preferred, and explanations for the guesses would be great, too.


Another example:


That's certainly a component of the Health Care Insurance issue, but since it does not kick in until 2018, it doesn't affect the question I have posed. How much will the 2017 costs rise over 2016? Guesses only ...






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DLax85

What a silly question....don't you know there are an infinite number of possibilities

Wait, wait - I'll guess: 1%

MD11HOG

I asked this on Facebook ,so it's no guess. 2016 -2017 One year increase of 28%. So that's 34% in 2 years plus up to 10% every year afterwords till....forever.

TonyC

What I believe is silly is how many people are willing to swallow the concessions of the TA without having even the faintest idea of how much their health care costs are going up.

Does anybody believe their monthly premiums will go up by 50%?

I'm on the Buy-Up plan for myself and my family, and that's what I'm looking at if the Negotiating Committee's estimates hold true. In 2016 I can pay as much as $270.34/month, and in 2017 they say that will increase to $407.31 -- that's a 50.6% increase. In 2018 it can go up another 10%, and another 10% in 2019, and in 2020, and in 2021. In 5 years, my costs will have more than doubled.

I haven't heard that explained in any Webcasts, Roadshows, or call-ins, but I've sure heard about the 28.5% B-fund bump ... several times.

If I give you $10 with one hand and take back $8 from the other, have you gained $10?






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TonyC

If it's not a guess, there must be a a TA reference for that. Can you point it out?


(28% sounds like the Estimated Projected increase for the Buy-Up Plan for the Employee plus spouse. For the Employee only, the Estimated Projected is 69.7%, and for the Employee plus children, it's estimated to be 23.1%. The numbers are higher (obviously) for what they call "Worst case," even though nothing protects us from it being worse than the "worst case." The numbers are lower for the CDHPs.)



So, back to the question. Since it depends on A) What option you choose and B) What the FedEx actuary determines to be the projected cost of health care insurance in 2017, what do you think you will pay, as a percentage increase to your 2016 costs?






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