(no subject)

[rootofnewt]

Just out of curiousity...

is there anyone reading this who is a full-time employee of a company (or knows of a person who is) and, as such, received in their benefits package full health insurance coverage *without paying any premiums*? In other words, are there actually companies which pay employees' entire insurance premium costs?

I've never encountered this before and one person in a community is insisting that it's actually very widespread in the US, and common in fields like high tech (zir words, not mine).

So, educate me.

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

My former employer, for quite some time, did this for my insurance coverage. I only had to pay premiums to add Toni.

[firinel.livejournal.com]

marnanel does, in zir current job, but my exhusband, who's entire American job history would be considered in 'high tech' fields and spans the past 6 years has never had that. I would hardly call it widespread or common.

[lightning-rose.livejournal.com]

It used to be fairly common here in Silicon Valley, but I think it's pretty much a thing of the past.

[queensheba.livejournal.com]

I've never encountered that. I'm not sure why a company would want to do that - it would be in their best interests to pay part and have the employee pay part. That way they can say they offer health insurance, but since they don't have to absorb the total costs, they can afford to pay their employees better salaries, etc.

I just got my benefits package today, and it lists the 5 health insurance options our hospital offers, and with each one there's the cost in two columns - one is the fraction the hospital pays, and one is the fraction you pay.

[firinel.livejournal.com]

hey don't have to absorb the total costs, they can afford to pay their employees better salaries

The 'better salary' is just a pretense, though, then, isn't it? Say, for example, that health insurance costs the employee $5,000. If the employee gets paid $45,000 and doesn't have to pay the premiums, that's the same as an employee getting paid $50,000 and having to pay the premiums.

[queensheba.livejournal.com]

Right, it's a semantics thing - you're getting the same actual financial benefit either way it's just a different way of saying it.

[mustelidmania.livejournal.com]

Kelson Physician Partners pay for the employee only, but pays 50% for other family members. It is a rare thing though.

[annaoj.livejournal.com]

Apparently up until two years ago, they didn't charge premiums for Utah State employees.

[eeyore-grrl.livejournal.com]

this is the first job i have had that pays my premium. i ahve a $5 copay for just about everything. meds and appointments.


last job (in ny) i was paying about $70 per month. before that about $50.

[elnigma.livejournal.com]

Rare, and getting rarer. P's got it only at GE years ago that had a particularly great insurance package.

[red-frog.livejournal.com]

Even when Scott was working for the feds we paid part of it, and I pay half of my premiums now.

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

IBM covers all but about $60/mo. of my coverage. It would become about $200/mo. I'd have to contribute if I added anyone else to my plan. That's not huge, but it's a bit, and enough to "incentivize" people into paying attention to situations where a familymember may be double-covered. The money isn't so important to the plan adminitration (though it does add up over tens of thousands of employees), but the lack of hassles of making sure only one plan covers a particular person *is* worth it.

[sheilamarie.livejournal.com]

My company had a subsidized and unsubsidized rates for spouses. What that mean was that if you had a stay at home wife you'd pay less because she couldn't get insurance through an employer then if your wife had a job but liked your benefits better. Kinda sucked, but sometimes it was worth it. At my old job I carried my husband on my dental and eye insurance because his company's plans were terrible.

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

My company did this until this month. They paid the entire healthcare premium, including any and all dependents.

[prizmdonna.livejournal.com]

AVN did it, until pretty much right now, that is. We just had a meeting about this Tuesday. Insurance rates went so up so drastically, that they just can't foot the entire bill anymore.

- donna

[nannar.livejournal.com]

I haven't read all the replies yet to see, but my last 4 employers paid 100% of my premiums and a percentage of family premium if I had them.

I think it happened because of the dot coms needing to attract employees. I think you will find the practice isn't as common now. I could be wrong though.

Also, I know of places that are now making their employees pay 10 or 15% of the premiums, but gave every employee a raise to cover the difference. It saves money on the business/tax side somehow.

[circumspectly.livejournal.com]

i worked at one company that paid all of my premiums. it wasn't a tech company, and as a matter of fact, was a temp agency. i wasn't a temp, i worked as an agency employee, but yep, they paid it all for just over two years. i wouldn't say it's widespread, though.

chris works for a big ole tech company, and even if it was just her on the insurance, she'd still have premiums.

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do.

I also previously had it, though I paid a co-pay at the doctor's.

[fluzby.livejournal.com]

Up until this calendar year, Copper Mountain used to pay 100% of my premium. I still had to pay copays, out of network fees, etc., but I didn't have to pay any insurance premium. This year, I have to pay 10% of my premiume. It's $31 from every paycheck.

[lupa.livejournal.com]

i used to have that with pfizer, then lost it upon moving over to viacom.

[sheilamarie.livejournal.com]

Having sold group coverage, it does indeed happen. It happened more often when I first started working for my company then when I was laid off. For us it was usually a law office or some other such thing where they were raking in the money as opposed to the lil mom and pop shop down the street. There are two things to keep in mind, this was only for a portion of Florida and I never dealt with a group with more then 200 employees. The company I worked for didn't even pay all the premium, even for the HMO. Granted it was just 10 bucks for the HMO and 24 for the PPO. I'm on Greg's insurance (the insurance at my company SUCKS ASS) and my company gives me 50 bucks a month.

[stmaybe.livejournal.com]

k's former employers did that for the first 5-7 years of his employment. i'd never heard of it before either. he was in the semi-conductor industry though & they seem to know how to treat their employees real well while simultaneously working them to the bone & sucking the very life out of them. k was all distressed when his department split off to form their own company & go ipo - all the sudden he had to pay $20 a month for health insurance (which was still absurdly low compared to the state employees program).

[avitania.livejournal.com]

my current job pays $250 per month that covers my entire premium -- i pay extra to add C. without C, i would actually get back whatever of that $250 was left after my premium was paid (which would be something around $50, i'm told). my last full time job included full health coverage as well. both were high tech firms.

with that said, i don't think it's all that common. C currently sells health insurance for a living, and many small companies don't even offer health coverage at all.

[lachupacabra.livejournal.com]

it used to be common...so common in fact,
that some ppl wanted to work @ specific
places (the marshall field dept store for one,
any of the big 3 for another) especially for the
great coverage (usually blue cross/blue shield)

there was a time when having BCBS meant
having nothing to worry about when it came
to medical bills. everything was covered by
them, there was absolutely no out of pocket
& your premiums were paid in full by your
employer.

now is a whole 'nother story.

marshall fields fired as many of their long-term
insured employees (with accrued vacation time)
that they could get away with firing & are working
on forcing the rest out. new employees are hired
only part time & are denied ANY insurance.

ppl i know who work(ed) for any of the
3 car companies here in MI have been
getting charged more & more every year
for less & less coverage & some have
even been flat out denied insurance by
their employers.

i want to go live on another planet.
:(

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

I'm the only person I know who ever had that, so I don't think it's common at all. It may have been in some tech companies during the boom of a few years ago, but I don't know. My company (a public pension fund) paid all premiums (including spouse and children) since they offered health insurance until December. We're now paying part of our own premiums due to rising costs.

[shanspice.livejournal.com]

up until last year my company paid 100% besides co-pays of $10 for myself and my domestic partner, now spouse. then they instituted $65 a bi-weekly paycheck for a two person family. it's tech, but it's also hokey vermont. i always thought 100% coverage was standard for any salaried job with decent bennys. i'm now finding out that it's not so much the case anymore. it was 5 years ago though when i was interviewing a bunch at all types of companies... healthcare costs went up 36% last year though according to my employer.

[jkatj.livejournal.com]

I was very surprised to see so many people reply to this saying they have or had 100% coverage. I've never heard of your average workers qualifying for something like this except in fields with shortages in workers.