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Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

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Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#51

Post by [deleted] »

Klathmon wrote: post #34
ryaan_anthony wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you are fired or quit. If you are laid off, you have the option to continue your insurance at your employers discounted rate. The program is called COBRA if you want to look into it.

COBRA is temporary (for 18-36 months depending on the situation), and you need to not only pay what you have been paying, but you also need to pay the "employer's share". And it must be identical to the plan you left, so you can't reduce coverage or change anything at all about the plan or you'll lose eligibility. That means people who quit or are laid off will end up having to pay more for their healthcare at a time…

[deleted]

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#52

Post by omgwtfbyobbq »

filmgirlcw wrote: post #48
Klathmon wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

COBRA is temporary (for 18-36 months depending on the situation), and you need to not only pay what you have been paying, but you also need to pay the "employer's share". And it must be identical to the plan you left, so you can't reduce coverage or change anything at all about the plan or you'll lose eligibility. That means people who quit or are laid off will end up having to pay more for their healthcare at a time…

Yup — almost made this comment in another thread. There are tons of gotchas with COBRA. Sure, if you can afford it, it can be better than the alternative (especially if you have expensive medications or a pre-existing condition that requires lots of ongoing treatment), but I’ve had plenty of friends who have at various stages had to face questions about health insurance or rent — and as you say, if you’re late at all…

Late with Cobra is different from most insurance because you can pay the month after you receive services, not before.

This also allows you a little more flexibility than with a traditional plan where you have to prepay. For instance, if you're going to enroll in a new plan as of January, and don't end up using any medical services in December, you can decide in January not to pay for that month and Cobra will terminate coverage.

You don't have that option with a normal plan.

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#53

Post by xster »

kempbellt wrote: post #41
synaesthesisx wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, it sure would be great if we could decouple health insurance from employment like other reasonable countries. It would be a shame to literally have your existence threatened by absurd factors well outside of your control (like your employer unable to meet payroll due to a global pandemic).

Then let's do it

#yang2020

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#54

Post by Ididntdothis »

xster wrote: post #53
kempbellt wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then let's do it

#yang2020

Did Yang run on health care reform? Last time I read about him he was babbling about “choice” and “market” but seemed to have no real plan other than the magic of the free market. If the health care situation doesn’t change then all of UBI will be eaten up by health care soon.

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#55

Post by dlandis »

twblalock wrote: post #6

I hope the furloughed workers will be able to get unemployment benefits or something similar. Otherwise being furloughed is the worst of both worlds: employed, but unpaid. On the other hand, being furloughed rather than laid off will mean the workers keep their health insurance.

> Otherwise being furloughed is the worst of both worlds: employed, but unpaid.

It totally depends on how long the furlough is. A short furlough means you still have a job to go back to, and you don't have to repeat the whole job search/interviewing process.

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#57

Post by acwan93 »

synaesthesisx wrote: post #24
Ididntdothis wrote: post #19

At least they can stay on their health insurance. It’s always mind boggling that in the US you will not just lose your job when you get laid off but also your health insurance. For a lot of people this is life threatening.

Man, it sure would be great if we could decouple health insurance from employment like other reasonable countries. It would be a shame to literally have your existence threatened by absurd factors well outside of your control (like your employer unable to meet payroll due to a global pandemic).

With gigwork and independent contracting becoming a significant part of our economy, I can’t agree more. It seems archaic to bundle health insurance to my workplace. I can purchase auto, home, life, and whatever other insurance on my own, why not health?

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#58

Post by Florin_Andrei »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #19

At least they can stay on their health insurance. It’s always mind boggling that in the US you will not just lose your job when you get laid off but also your health insurance. For a lot of people this is life threatening.

> It’s always mind boggling that in the US you will not just lose your job when you get laid off but also your health insurance. For a lot of people this is life threatening.

For a lot of people in the truly civilized countries, this is inconceivable.

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#59

Post by dylan604 »

acwan93 wrote: post #57
synaesthesisx wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, it sure would be great if we could decouple health insurance from employment like other reasonable countries. It would be a shame to literally have your existence threatened by absurd factors well outside of your control (like your employer unable to meet payroll due to a global pandemic).

With gigwork and independent contracting becoming a significant part of our economy, I can’t agree more. It seems archaic to bundle health insurance to my workplace. I can purchase auto, home, life, and whatever other insurance on my own, why not health?

You can buy health insurance on your own. It's just not going to be subsidized by your employer. If you thought your health care premiums through work were high, just wait until you see how much more it goes up with out the employer contribution. Easily double would be a first guess.

Re: Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees

#60

Post by MereInterest »

dylan604 wrote: post #59
acwan93 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With gigwork and independent contracting becoming a significant part of our economy, I can’t agree more. It seems archaic to bundle health insurance to my workplace. I can purchase auto, home, life, and whatever other insurance on my own, why not health?

You can buy health insurance on your own. It's just not going to be subsidized by your employer. If you thought your health care premiums through work were high, just wait until you see how much more it goes up with out the employer contribution. Easily double would be a first guess.

It is also higher due to having a poorer negotiating platform. When an employer threatens to have hundreds to thousands of workers switch coverage, it can decrease the price. When an individual threatens to switch, the result is a shrug. Scaling this up is a good reason to support a single-payer system.
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