Bill Drafted to force UPMC & Highmark into binding arbitration

[WINDCHIMES]

Oh rats...that's not good! I hope your better now!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by WINDCHIMES

My insurance is changing to healthamerica because of this..hope they are better!

We had Health America through hubby's last employer. Never had a problem with it. Almost all doctors accept it. We're with Cigna now.

I do a spreadsheet each year comparing my three options. Amazingly, last year the middle priced premium ultimately was the cheapest option after taking into consideration the different copays, deductibles, etc. That's not the case every year. Usually the most expensive premium is the cheapest plan overall. But they change it up each year so you have to closely compare each plan every year to make the best decision.It's like gambling. You calculate out the worst case scenario. Then you decide if you want to take the risk and go for a cheaper plan knowing you're screwed if the worse case scenario happens.

Btw, I'm glad to hear your company is switching to Health American because of this. That means that UPMC's plan is backfiring. They THINK that employers will switch to UPMC health plans in fear that their employees won't be covered. I'm hearing that many companies are doing the opposite. The other insurance companies are benefiting from this because employers are option for nonUPMC and sometimes nonHighmark options because all of the other insurance companies have contracts with all hospitals.

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Oh dear god....

When I got deathly ill last year and had surgery a lot was not covered under them. I paid $7000 out of pocket. As much as I hate UPMC as a company, their insurance has been far better than Health America's.

Of course, if you chose the option with the cheapest premium, you'll have get the highest out of pocket expenses.

UPMC isn't all that. Highmark is much better insurance. I've had them all.

ETA: If the plan you have is the only Health America plan your employer offered, blame it on your employer, not Health America. These insurance companies have many, many different plans to choose from. Your employer is the one who choses which of those plans to make available to employees.

[WINDCHIMES]

Thank you Hopes, I will defintely being that to the attention of my better half, he no doubt would pick the cheapest but with some health issues coming to light, it may not be in our best interest to do that We had cigna many years ago and were happy with it
I feel all this is going to be a huge wake up call for UPMC myself good, its about time too! Could not agree more!

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

ETA: If the plan you have is the only Health America plan your employer offered, blame it on your employer, not Health America. These insurance companies have many, many different plans to choose from. Your employer is the one who choses which of those plans to make available to employees.

This is very true. Limitations on coverage, etc. mostly all comes back to the employer. The insurance companies might design dozens of different plans all with employers' needs in mind. Benefit managers have to balance their own costs vs what the plans will cover, etc.

Right now we have Aetna. Not sure if that will change this time or not. Our company's renewal is in April, not January. I've been with the company many years and pretty much we always end up switching every few years or so.