The average cost of healthcare,....for a Teamster,....should be posted monthly on your union bulletin board. If it isn't,....along with your pension payments and contributions billed to the company,....your steward isn't doing his job. So.....as posted in W. Penna. , the healthcare , per employee/ family....one size fits all,.....is $ 1375.85 per month. If you retire, or get fired, or get laid off,....the COBRA law requires the company to offer a reduced benefit plan at a reduced price as an option. The reduced plan here is about $1175.00 a month with no dental or eye care.,......Big,....as they say,....deal....The Affordable Care Act will allow retirees,....on their adjusted income as a retiree,......to shop on the healthcare exchange sites for a cheaper, tailor-made plan. One of our recent retirees,....at age 59,....far too young for Medicare,......"shopped" on the site, and got comparable health care for just him,...(his wife is still working, and has her own...),...at about $583.00 a month. We have a $475.00 subsidy for retirees until Medicare age,....so,...essentially,...he will pay about $9.00 a month for healthcare if he rejects the COBRA insurance and applies through the Obamacare web site, and uses the $475.00 subsidy...............All the screaming and hand-wringing,.....50 votes to de-fund Obamacare in the House,....is being done by the special interests.....Your boss/employer loves having control of your health care, especially if you're non-Union. That control buys him a quiet, subservient work force that doesn't dare organize,.....because they're afraid to lose their health care. I've been on organizing drives, and I wish I had a nickel for every non-union guy who'd like to organize, but was scared of losing family coverage. The insurance companies want it de-funded because it's a lot easier to walk into a factory,..... ask how many employees,.....and write one health care plan for a thousand employees,.....instead of having to write a thousand health care plans tailor-made for each employee. In case anyone hasn't noticed,....the big tipoff is that,....in spite of 50 votes to repeal Obamacare,.....the Republicans STILL haven't offered a viable "Plan B",....their answer is just to go back to the way it was:......rising costs,....deteriorating coverage,....selective denial of benefits.........So,.....when I hear my local Congressman bloviating about how he should be re-elected because he "Voted 50 times to De-Fund Obamacare!",....I wonder who does he consider his constituency? The voters?.....Or the special interests that fund his campaign? A Prediction,....if you will. Just as your mailbox is flooded now with Prudential,State Farm, and Geico,....all wanting you to switch your car insurance because they'll give you a cheaper rate,......In about two years , your mailbox will be overflowing with HEALTH INSURERS wanting you to do the same with your health care. Yes,......the Affordable Care Act is flawed,.......it ain't perfect,.........but it has set into motion COMPETITIVENESS in the health insurer industry, for the first time,........And, believe me,.....the insurers are doing their damndest to reverse the process, and go back tpo where they,.....and your employer,....control your health care. Think for yourself. Don't listen to the propaganda spewing out of the radio.........
two thumbs up for your post Canaryinthemine
