Heard through the Los Angeles Times Grapevine yesterday the bean counters at Mercer have taken seven hundred Tribune dependants off the health care system, which will save the Tribune Company $1.3 million annually. Since I do not have access to email at the Los Angeles Times, I will have to wait for LAObserved to post the memo to verify this rumor.
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Ed, you spun the 700 number a bit. As you know, I work in HR and I can tell you that it's the company's responsibility to audit dependent eligibility. The 700 could be ex-spouses, children that are not full-time students or are now over 21. It may also include step-children/grandchildren. You can only cover these dependents if they live with the insured.
That being said -- I do think the fact that they want to add a surcharge for spouses that can get insurance from their employer is an outrage.
Open enrollment is an opportunity to view both employer's insurance offerings and see what is best for the family and their expected expenses for the coming year.
The Tribune will see two scenarios - covering spouses and having their employees covered by their spouse's insurance. They want to implement a spouse surcharge yet they don't disclose their cost savings by having their employees covered by non-Tribune companies.
The Tribune's decision to penalize employees who have a spouse that works just shows that they have no conscience and just look at the bottom line. They make a decision to help those with medical issues by supplying generic drugs for free, but if their employee is diabetic and has a spouse that works, you nullify the good with a poorly decided on decision. Welcome to Open Enrollment - you are free to make your choices with one hand tied behind your back!
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