Email update about health insurance change

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm furious that the unions did not survey their members to gather feedback and get their preference. Many employees would rather pay more to keep BCBS then be forced to switch to Cigna. It isn't just about providers that accept Cigna, it's also about what medications and treatments they will and will not cover. I know they do not cover DBT therapy which is a life saving therapy program for many teens and adults. I guarantee they will not cover weight loss treatments at the same level as BCBS. I can only hope they cover gender affirming treatment/surgery and conception interventions and support that allow for all employees, regardless of gender or martial status, to receive benefits. It is careless of the unions to agree with this without getting input from their members, they are not representing the employees.

Really? I'm elated! These options are so much better. CareFirst is terrible these days. I don't think anyone even takes their shoddy HMO anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most medical providers in the DC area are in network with BCBS. Not so with Cigna. Kaiser in the DC area is even worse because you have $0 coverage unless you go to a Kaiser medical facility. You don’t have access to top doctors when you need one with Kaiser and wait times for appointments can be long.

Cutting benefits is just another way to short change employees. Employers do it to save on their contributions, not to provide better coverage for the employees. Terrible decision by MCPS and to spring this on employees after the decision was made shows how little MCPS cares about what employees want.

I thought Kaiser has a PPO option that allows you to go outside network.

[Anonymous]

Read between the lines folks. BCBS would significantly increase your premiums. Then you would be whining about that.

There is no such thing as a perfect health care system. If you want value for money, single payer is best, but know that it would be similar to Kaiser in terms of wait times, access to specialists, etc. If you want unlimited access to health care, that costs a lot of money and yes, your premiums will increase. It's also incredibly inefficient.

What you get as an MCPS employee, much as so many of you say it "sucks" is really good access to healthcare. The reality is, healthcare systems across the world are extremely strained right now, and this is about as good as it is going to get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most medical providers in the DC area are in network with BCBS. Not so with Cigna. Kaiser in the DC area is even worse because you have $0 coverage unless you go to a Kaiser medical facility. You don’t have access to top doctors when you need one with Kaiser and wait times for appointments can be long.

Cutting benefits is just another way to short change employees. Employers do it to save on their contributions, not to provide better coverage for the employees. Terrible decision by MCPS and to spring this on employees after the decision was made shows how little MCPS cares about what employees want.

I thought Kaiser has a PPO option that allows you to go outside network.

My experience with Kaiser was excellent. Also never had to wait. In fact, it was great to have tests and meds and labs all in one place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read between the lines folks. BCBS would significantly increase your premiums. Then you would be whining about that.

There is no such thing as a perfect health care system. If you want value for money, single payer is best, but know that it would be similar to Kaiser in terms of wait times, access to specialists, etc. If you want unlimited access to health care, that costs a lot of money and yes, your premiums will increase. It's also incredibly inefficient.

What you get as an MCPS employee, much as so many of you say it "sucks" is really good access to healthcare. The reality is, healthcare systems across the world are extremely strained right now, and this is about as good as it is going to get.

And I’m saying I’d rather have higher costs. I know what the situation is nationally right now. I’ve got a serious health condition and I’d rather pay more to not die of it because the treatment I needed got denied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read between the lines folks. BCBS would significantly increase your premiums. Then you would be whining about that.

There is no such thing as a perfect health care system. If you want value for money, single payer is best, but know that it would be similar to Kaiser in terms of wait times, access to specialists, etc. If you want unlimited access to health care, that costs a lot of money and yes, your premiums will increase. It's also incredibly inefficient.

What you get as an MCPS employee, much as so many of you say it "sucks" is really good access to healthcare. The reality is, healthcare systems across the world are extremely strained right now, and this is about as good as it is going to get.

And I’m saying I’d rather have higher costs. I know what the situation is nationally right now. I’ve got a serious health condition and I’d rather pay more to not die of it because the treatment I needed got denied.

Actually you're saying you want everyone to have higher costs, because that is what it would take for you to have the access you want. I'm sorry, it sucks and unfortunately there isn't a great solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most medical providers in the DC area are in network with BCBS. Not so with Cigna. Kaiser in the DC area is even worse because you have $0 coverage unless you go to a Kaiser medical facility. You don’t have access to top doctors when you need one with Kaiser and wait times for appointments can be long.

Cutting benefits is just another way to short change employees. Employers do it to save on their contributions, not to provide better coverage for the employees. Terrible decision by MCPS and to spring this on employees after the decision was made shows how little MCPS cares about what employees want.

I thought Kaiser has a PPO option that allows you to go outside network.

My experience with Kaiser was excellent. Also never had to wait. In fact, it was great to have tests and meds and labs all in one place.

Mine too. It has been excellent. I was just responding to the PP who may have wanted to see a specific "top" doctor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read between the lines folks. BCBS would significantly increase your premiums. Then you would be whining about that.

There is no such thing as a perfect health care system. If you want value for money, single payer is best, but know that it would be similar to Kaiser in terms of wait times, access to specialists, etc. If you want unlimited access to health care, that costs a lot of money and yes, your premiums will increase. It's also incredibly inefficient.

What you get as an MCPS employee, much as so many of you say it "sucks" is really good access to healthcare. The reality is, healthcare systems across the world are extremely strained right now, and this is about as good as it is going to get.

And I’m saying I’d rather have higher costs. I know what the situation is nationally right now. I’ve got a serious health condition and I’d rather pay more to not die of it because the treatment I needed got denied.

Actually you're saying you want everyone to have higher costs, because that is what it would take for you to have the access you want. I'm sorry, it sucks and unfortunately there isn't a great solution.

I’m saying I would like to have been asked, and I’m not sure why there can’t be choices. MCPS used to offer both CareFirst and Cigna and Kaiser. And I think United. They have gradually made everything worse in the last 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read between the lines folks. BCBS would significantly increase your premiums. Then you would be whining about that.

There is no such thing as a perfect health care system. If you want value for money, single payer is best, but know that it would be similar to Kaiser in terms of wait times, access to specialists, etc. If you want unlimited access to health care, that costs a lot of money and yes, your premiums will increase. It's also incredibly inefficient.

What you get as an MCPS employee, much as so many of you say it "sucks" is really good access to healthcare. The reality is, healthcare systems across the world are extremely strained right now, and this is about as good as it is going to get.

And I’m saying I’d rather have higher costs. I know what the situation is nationally right now. I’ve got a serious health condition and I’d rather pay more to not die of it because the treatment I needed got denied.

Actually you're saying you want everyone to have higher costs, because that is what it would take for you to have the access you want. I'm sorry, it sucks and unfortunately there isn't a great solution.

I’m saying I would like to have been asked, and I’m not sure why there can’t be choices. MCPS used to offer both CareFirst and Cigna and Kaiser. And I think United. They have gradually made everything worse in the last 10 years.

Maybe you should ask them. But I'd imagine there are tradeoffs with premiums since if all the people who need lots of care sign up for the same plan and everyone else goes for a different one, that means the high risk people will have to pay a lot. The more people that pool together the more you can spread the costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm furious that the unions did not survey their members to gather feedback and get their preference. Many employees would rather pay more to keep BCBS then be forced to switch to Cigna. It isn't just about providers that accept Cigna, it's also about what medications and treatments they will and will not cover. I know they do not cover DBT therapy which is a life saving therapy program for many teens and adults. I guarantee they will not cover weight loss treatments at the same level as BCBS. I can only hope they cover gender affirming treatment/surgery and conception interventions and support that allow for all employees, regardless of gender or martial status, to receive benefits. It is careless of the unions to agree with this without getting input from their members, they are not representing the employees.

Oh, come on. Decisions like this aren't really compatible with Athenian democracy. Besides, when the results of that survey came out, it would severely compromise MCPS bargaining power with the provider that came in first place.

[Anonymous]

US healthcare is a mess unfortunately.
I’m guessing Carefirst had a significant pay hike so it did not even make sense to do a vote.
I’m older but many teachers are young (less than 30 years) and for them, paying a lot more would not make sense

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm furious that the unions did not survey their members to gather feedback and get their preference. Many employees would rather pay more to keep BCBS then be forced to switch to Cigna. It isn't just about providers that accept Cigna, it's also about what medications and treatments they will and will not cover. I know they do not cover DBT therapy which is a life saving therapy program for many teens and adults. I guarantee they will not cover weight loss treatments at the same level as BCBS. I can only hope they cover gender affirming treatment/surgery and conception interventions and support that allow for all employees, regardless of gender or martial status, to receive benefits. It is careless of the unions to agree with this without getting input from their members, they are not representing the employees.

Oh, come on. Decisions like this aren't really compatible with Athenian democracy. Besides, when the results of that survey came out, it would severely compromise MCPS bargaining power with the provider that came in first place.

Exactly. Even most private companies don’t survey their employees before changing providers. They have a HR Benefits team that looks at pricing and coverage and then makes some decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm furious that the unions did not survey their members to gather feedback and get their preference. Many employees would rather pay more to keep BCBS then be forced to switch to Cigna. It isn't just about providers that accept Cigna, it's also about what medications and treatments they will and will not cover. I know they do not cover DBT therapy which is a life saving therapy program for many teens and adults. I guarantee they will not cover weight loss treatments at the same level as BCBS. I can only hope they cover gender affirming treatment/surgery and conception interventions and support that allow for all employees, regardless of gender or martial status, to receive benefits. It is careless of the unions to agree with this without getting input from their members, they are not representing the employees.

All that you just named has nothing to do with the carrier and everything to do with what the employer selects to cover. I’ve had Cigna insurance for years (formerly had CareFirst too) and DBT is absolutely covered. So is weightloss treatment - that saves the carrier major money then paying millions for strokes and heart attacks. Gender surgery is at the discretion of the employer. Counseling and medication tends to be covered regardless as many providers still bill as gender dysmorphia (I’m not even sure if there is another categorization at this point for providers to use).

All that said. I hope you’ve contacted the union to clearly express your frustration. That’s your role as a member and they need to hear it.

[Anonymous]

I love Kaiser for me and my family. Having everything in one place to care for all family members is so convenient. I also like how easier it is to talk to someone for medical advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have had insurance through Cigna in the past, through my spouse's employer and my assessment is that they are awful. Claims processed incorrectly, claims denied that needed to be re-processed again and again, even though every phone call I was told it would be taken care of, and my all time favorite, both of our children have a condition they were born with, that needs monitoring and occasional treatment. They have a specialist they had been seeing for years (when covered by Aetna). When spouse changed jobs and we then had Cigna, I wrote an appeal for each child, essentially the same (child diagnosed with xx was being seen/treated by doctor Larlo since their diagnosis, no doctors in Cigna that treated xx diagnosis, and could they cover the treatment/visits with Dr. Larlo). One child approved, one denied. Many phone calls, hours of my time later, I was finally put through to someone who was willing to look at the information rather than read from the Cigna pre-approved script. And eventually, both kids visits were approved.

I know it's anecdotal by one person, but Cigna is awful. Benefits were the one reason many worked for MC, because the money is awful (paraeducators anyway). We shall see if this has any effect. I am no longer a para at MCPS, but if I still was, I would have paid more to stay with Carefirst. Never again will my family be stuck with Cigna, or the Kaiser HMO (would go on the ACA before I would go with either of those).

LOL. DCUM gonna DCUM.