Is it safe to ask your employer about benefits their health insurance policy provides that I may want to use before I sign up for the health insurance they offer?
I am thinking about signing up but want to know first if I can get a health procedure done that may cost 5-10K, and may want to take care of a few other items at the same time that could bring that number higher.
The concern is that if asking my company if this procedure is covered under their health policy significantly or completely, so only have to pay a small amount or nothing of that 5-10K, that this may cause the cost of their health insurance policy to go up and that I imagine would not be looked upon favorably as regards me. Also I am one of their "older" employees, and they may think their is more of a chance of me using the health insurance increasingly over time. Fortunately my health is very good and I am not officially "old" yet LOL.
Also, my union told me to get their health insurance policy rather than the one my company offers, saying their policy is better (no explanation was given as to how the union policy is better). In general, are union health policies generally better than the company ones?
And since the union is more favorable to employees in certain matters than the company, I have the same question above as to whether I can inquire safely if I can get the procedure I want to do from the union rep.
Or perhaps 5-10K will not impact the cost of the health insurance my company and my union offers?
If so, is their a point at which it is no longer safe to inquire about benefits a health insurance policy would cover if the company or union perceives that benefit would be costly and cause their insurance premiums to rise due to an employees use of them (i.e. if you needed a major surgery that would cost 100K).
HMOs you are pretty much locked into their network of providers. I found that the doctors I liked in my area, were not in the the network and the ones who were, I wouldn't take my dog to.
PPOs have their network and they pay more if you use network providers. If you go out of the network, they don't cover as much but u can go out of network.
In order to evaluate insurance plans and do a legitimate comparison, find out if HR has a chart that lays out a spreadsheet that compares all plans. Educate yourself about the differences between an HMO a PPO and plans that have no networks. If you have established relationships with doctors find out if they are in-network and which plans they prefer to work with.
You don't talk to your company about what medical procedures you will be having done or considering the cost to them. You tell them when you need to take c time off for a procedure. Anything else is our own business. They provide an insurance plan and that's the end of it.
If you don’t have their numbers, perhaps the employer could give it to you, in the guise of comparing plans.
Or, perhaps a colleague could give you the phone number off of the back of their card.
The deductable is the main thing to consider. It can be as high as 6k. Meaning you need to meet that before the policy pays.
You should have information on the company policy as well as information on the Union policy.
How can anyone make an educated, informed decision if not all the information is presented?
Request the information from HR as well as from the Union rep read the information and then make your decision.
To get this information you do not have to disclose any health information.