Just received information about the new HRA medical program for next year. So now, if I choose to use the HRA and accept the $4K the company puts in the account, that money is now mine to spend as I choose and I can take with me when I leave. So when the company request me to provide a doctors note for sick leave, it is no longer the copay plus the Fedex insurance paying the bill, they are requiring me to spend my money to appease their curiosity.

you can still choose the buyup plan, just means no HRA $$, higher premiums, but lower copay

I realize I could filter through the contract, but am too lazy, and I have not received the information yet. If you get the plan that includes the HRA's, do you have to pay the full cost from your HRA if you see your doctor for any health concern?

I don't see any way I'm not taking the buy up plan, but if you end up paying for everything out of your HRA, what's the point? Taking a gamble your family will have a healthy year and you can bank the money?

Try watching the video

https://youtu.be/82sbialAvMk

Thanks, kronan. However, some of these videos were fluffy sales jobs, so.... I'll watch it, but not trust it.

I understand I can take the buy-up plan, but for those who choose to take the HRA money, they could be on the hook for the full cost of an office visit, just to provide a doctors note. Therefor, they would have less money in their HRA for real issues.

HRA details?
 

I won't pretend to have all of the HRA details but I have seen the R&I Committee Chairman's presentation. He didn't try to "sell" the plan to us and he seemed to like it. Since he's the smart guy on this subject we should probably keep from making snide remarks until we have all of the details.

Because we signed the CBA so late last year they didn't have time to make changes to our healthcare plan in time for the 2016 calendar year (and Congress postponed the implementation of the Cadillac Plan healthcare tax).

The way I understand it, plans with a total cost (contributed by both the Corporation and the pilot including including healthcare, vision and dental benefits) would be subject to a significant Obamacare tax. The HRA benefits were intentionally designed by mutual agreement of FedEx and ALPA to be under the taxable limit so as to avoid unwanted tax penalties.

In other related news, it appears that Capitol Hill has been getting complaints about the Cadillac Plan tax not just from ALPA but from MANY of their constituents. When I mentioned it to my Congressman, she agreed, "That was never the intent of the tax."

So ... for better or worse, we did the HRA plan to ourselves and will be forced to live with the consequences (and, 58% said it was good enough for them).

Of course it was the intent of the tax, either she is an idiot or thinks you are.

You DON'T have to live with it, you can have the same exact coverage you do today.
Or, you could choose a different insurance path. One with a tax deferred savings component.

I agree with kronan. There is no reason you have to live with the consequences of the HRA plan, just don't select it. Especially if your family uses medical benefits regularly. Simple enough. It seems like a bit of a suckers deal. Pulls you in by thinking about all the money you build up in your HRA (if you select a much worse plan than what you have). I have a family member who now has the similar HRA plan that other FedEx employees have. They are not happy with it, and say it costs them far more overall.

As far as the R and I chairman seeming to "like" the HRA plan, well, I wonder what he has selected for his family. I recall he seemed to think these high deductible plans were a great option for people retiring before 65, in the retirement seminar, which surprised me....why would someone not want to keep our extremely good plan during their high medical usage years, even if the monthly premium was higher?