I think you are still eligible for the health insurance with the company as long as you mail them a check for your portion of the premiums?

 

Are you referring to the employee portion (the amount that is deducted from your pay check each month) or the COBRA rates? If they allowed you to stay on your plan if you sent them your portion of your insurance premiums per month (in my case $400) that would be great but I don't think that's the case. Anybody have the answer on this? The COBRA rates for the B plan are outrageous. If that's the case it would make more sense to look for a plan on the ACA exchanges.

 

Like I said above a few posts at 9 months of leave you will be sent to cobra for continued coverage. They will send you a letter that states all your premiums for your plan with 60 days to make up your mind if you want to continue coverage. I was able to return within that 60 day period luckily. Others are not so lucky. You are better off finding a plan on your own.

 

This is what is in the contract.....

"A pilot’s health benefits will continue for the first nine months of the
leave set forth above at the same benefit level and cost as if the pilot were
not on leave. A pilot on medical leave shall be entitled to health benefits
beyond nine months only upon reimbursement to the Company on a
monthly basis of the full cost of such benefits."

 

Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like it's just as horrible as I originally thought. Unfortunately, I think most of our pilots are unaware of just how awful our LTD policy is until they actually have to use it.

 

This is true, and by the time you realize you will have to declare bankruptcy it's too late to update that delta app.

 

I've been saying this forever. Is anyone listening?

 

No problem. The pilot group would probably be better served by looking to Harvey Watt and paying our own way on LTD and getting a wage bump. Some of the tax liabilities will be avoided, and we would have a bit more control of the terms. Only problem as pilots we are cheap and will say nope to having pay our own way. Also to anyone out when you return you will pay in arrears your half of the insurance premiums you were unable to pay during that 9 months.

Oh one thing I may be wrong on is the $5000 and $10000 cap. In my case my wage was at 5k a month approximately before taxes so 3k was my payout. Maybe someone who was making more can elaborate on their experience if they like wasting their time reading this stuff! Haha. That is about all I have from my experience with our LTD. Hope this helped.

 

I have a harvey watt policy unfortunately it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions unless you have been on the policy for over a year. Also the one I have doesn't start until year 5 but runs until age 65.

 

I disagree because I've shopped. The best policy I could find that defined disability based on your first class medical and went to age 65 didn't even start paying until year five of the disability. They are banking on you getting your medical back in the first five years. As a hypothetical spirit pilot that lost his medical that would leave a two year gap with no paycheck (years 3 and 4). The premiums were also outrageous.

The reason it needs to be in the contract is because it would be a group policy. That's the only way to get anything affordable. It would probably just like our medical plan in that it's self insured. This is why the good LTD plans are in every airlines' contracts, it's next to impossible to find a decent plan (pays with no/short waiting period, defines disability as not holding a first class, and pays to age 65) on your own.