FedEx Shifts Gears On Health Insurance
By Wayne Risher, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The changes, coming in January, will affect some 400,000 U.S. employees and family members. The change is designed to slow down one of the company's fastest-growing expenses, expected to top
Premiums will hold steady or rise slightly, but employees will no longer have an option with relatively low deductibles.
The company began rolling out information about the changes in July, well in advance of re-enrollment
"This new plan offers the best combination of benefits and incentives to address the rapid increase in health care costs,"
Officials don't think the change harms
"There's this tsunami of change that's going on, that's affecting everybody," said
"Health care inflation was already unsustainable before the (Affordable Care) Act passed, but the legislation has added costs and complexity on top of that for large employers including
The company will pay about
Another cost faced by
"Like virtually every large employer in America, we do not intend to have a plan that is subject to Cadillac excise tax penalties," Fitzgerald said.
Deductibles will go up as little as
High-deductible plans, also called consumer-driven or account-based plans, are becoming more common among U.S. businesses. They shift the cost of health care more onto the people who are using it, as opposed to spreading costs across all employees whether they use it or not. The plans force employees to be more actively involved in health and wellness and practice better consumer habits in shopping for medical services and goods.
Finnell said
"I think where
___
(c)2013 The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.)
Visit The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.) at www.commercialappeal.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 818 |
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News