Today we met with the company to discuss the upcoming open enrollment for our benefits and the changes that were made to any of the plans. As usual, the biggest issue is the continued rise in the cost for medical insurance.
Many of our fellow brothers and sisters are under the assumption that all of the medical plans are negotiated between the union and the company. That is not the case. The BCBS 750 and 1500 are the two plans where the details are actually negotiated between the parties. The current changes to these plans were agreed to during the 2008 negotiations. There are two HMO's available to the BU and they might fit your needs. Additionally, there is a HDHP. I would encourage all of you to use the modeling tool that will be available during open enrollment. Take the time to run the numbers, it may save you a lot of money.
Open enrollment will begin October 19th and will run until November 2nd. The only way to enroll this year will be online.
As a reminder, this year is also an enrollment year for vision. If this is an option for you make sure to enroll. The plan is only open every other year.
