Is this legal?

[crystal2u2]

What is the name of your state? WI

Our health insurance just took a major dive. While some of the things that have changed are annoying and irritating....a lot of us are wondering if one "provision" is legal. The letter we recently received states:

"Effective Nov 1, 2002, if your spouse is employed and is eligible for medical and/or prescription drug coverage through his or her employer, your spouse must enroll for that coverage. If your spouse is eligible for other coverage and does not enroll for that coverage, he or she will no longer be covered under this plan.

Therefore, it is essential that your spouse enroll for such coverage immediately."

It goes on to say that if they find out that the spouse is eligible for insurance and doesn't take it that they will be terminated immediately. And that the coverage they have (if they take it) will be their primary coverage from now on.

Is this legal? Can they really make families with both spouses working take insurance coverage from each employer? Isn't that forcing us to pay double for insurance? I thought that was the whole idea behind "family coverage".

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!
Crystal

 

[Kallen]

God will these companies EVER take a break from trying to do everything they can to SCREW the average person.

 

[cbg]

Yes, this is legal. It is becoming quite common, as a matter of fact, and stems from the fact that the cost of insurance is skyrocketing.

An employer has no obligation in any state except Hawaii to provide health insurance in the first place, and they certainly have no obligation to provide it to someone, like a spouse, who has access to health insurance of their own. Rather than trying to screw anyone, this is an attempt to keep costs contained and therefore continue to make insurance available at all.

 

[crystal2u2]

Ok..so even if it is legal, I think it still stinks! LOL This kind of coverage for the money we pay is just crazy. We have friends who pay a fraction of what we are paying and they have better insurance coverage.

Our insurance is issued through a union. They call themselves "self funded" but we go through an insurance Co. called AHC. That part I guess I don't understand. But...when you pay out over $7,000 per year to your health benefit fund I feel that you should get much better coverage than this! DH pays out $5.25 for every hour he works to his health benefit fund. This equals about $7,450. We have went from having no deductible and 100% coverage to having large deductibles, 80% coverage, tons of stipulations and now we will have to pay in full for our prescriptions and then submit the claim for reimbursement. And now they will only reimburse us for 80% of prescriptions. All this in about 4 years time. I think at this rate, we will be lucky to have any insurance at all within the next 10 years.

Ok...thank you for letting me vent.

Crystal