Conference quokka::non_custodial_parents

    
    
    Can you see if the mother can carry them on her insurance,
    then you can send the money to her???? 
    
    I have am HMO in Colorado and my son is in college in Washington.
    I have not had a problem, and I have had to send in several 
    emergency bills in without any questions. When my son was growing 
    up once he hit school age about the only thing he needed was
    once in awhile booster shots that he received when he in for the 
    once a year physical for sports. The gray area here tho is what 
    if the child does end up with an illness that would need on going 
    care?????
    
    This getting into some new ground for divorce agreements with 
    children in other sections of the country, regional HMOs and 
    insurance costs sky-rocketing it is going to take lots of 
    co-operation of the parents.
    
    Good Luck
    
    Joan
    

    I have a similar problem... kids living in another state.
    
    This problem is actually  of DEC's making, and it infuriates me.  The
    cost of PLAN 1 and PLAN2 varies from area to area, depending on the
    availability of HMOs in that area.  In the New England (primarily
    eastern Ma and S. New Hampshire) and in the Colorado Springs area and a
    few others, where HMOs abound, DEC is raising the cost of non-HMO
    health care insurance sky high to force employees to the lower cost
    HMOs .  This is understandable... but, they fail to provide for those
    of us who have dependants needing coverage, but live in areas where
    HMOs are not available, or acceptable to DECs criteria.  In these
    cases, the only insurance available is the Plan 1 or Plan2.  It is a
    form of discrimination... and the PSAs I've discussed it with say they
    are "aware" but as far as I know, nothing is being done.
    
    I suggest you carry this to DEC Personnel, and get them to at least
    bill you for the amount you would pay if you wer a DEC employee in the
    area where your children are.
    
    
    tony

  I too was infuriated about this yesterday when I got my pamplet.  I can
  understand why they want to cut the expenses down, but just like last
  year when it was brought up, they said that they would look into it but
  no action was taken.

  I'm going to see my PSA today and if necessary, keep pursuing it up the
  ladder.


  Kenn

  

    I know that there is probably a *lot* of nc's out there that are not
    a part of NCP note.  Need to get the message out for *all* of those
    in this position to get together.  Digital doesn't seem to listen
    to good to just one or two.
    
    Some other concerns I have is that HMO's don't cover things like
    mental health or physical rehab very well.
    
    fred();

The children's mother is unemployed.  Her health care was covered by us
for awhile under the, um, I think it was COBRA plan or something, but
now she is being covered by her new husband. 

I picked up a bunch of bullentins last night from the various HMO's, and
will be calling them with a set of questions, and also will go see my
PSA.  You're right, this is a problem of DEC's making with their push to
get people out of the DMP1 & 2's.  My biggest question is what constitutes
an emergency.  I hope it includes the things that young children are prone
to - ear infections and stuff like that.  

Leslie

  This morning I sent the following letter to my PSA.  I hope that we will
  hear more individuals concerns other than myself.

***************************************************************************

  After receiving my benefits booklet regarding health organization changes,
  I was *extremely* disappointed to find out that the concerns of non-custodial
  parents were or had not been addressed.  This matter was brought up last 
  year by several employees including myself, and it was stated that it would
  be looked into.  

  What I am referring to is the fact that *many* Digital employees throughout
  the U.S. are divorced and many of these individuals have children but
  do not have custody of their children.  Also in many of the cases, the
  children do not reside in the same state as the NCP.

  However, in the majority of these cases, the NCP is mandated by court 
  orders and/or by the laws of the state that the children legally reside in, 
  to maintain health insurance on our/their children.  

  All of the NCP's that I have known and worked with either directly or
  indirectly try "wholeheartedly" to comply with these orders, because they
  are our children and we want to be able to maintain the best health care
  available for them.  However, with the new plans that are taking effect,
  Digital is virtually placing an *extreme* financial hardship on employees 
  who are trying to live up to the parental obligations as a NCP.

  After doing some investigating last year and again, yesterday, I have 
  found out that HMO's will not cover dependents outside of the HMO's
  area, except on an emergency basis.  This *forces* the employee to 
  sign up with John Hancock Plan 2.  Last year's increase in insurance
  was stifling, but bearable.  This year, however, it has totally gotten
  out of hand and it will force many Digital employees into financial
  chaos and/or possible financial ruins.  I'm sure you are aware that
  it will cost approx. $236 for a 4 week month, and $295 for 5 week
  month to maintain Plan 2.  

  We realize that Digital is trying to save monies by consolidating health
  care costs and we totally agree with what Digital is trying to accomplish,
  but in the same breath, we feel that Digital has not taken into account
  options for non-custodial parents who have been discriminated against 
  enough by today's society.  

  Sure there are some bad apples who have ruined it for NCP's and I could 
  go on and on, but the majority of NCP's are caring parents who want to 
  make the most of our unfortunate situations.

  I realize that "it's not Digitals's fault" that we are in the situation
  we are in, but I would hope that Digital would look at our dilemma
  and possibly become a trendsetter in considering NCP's who are diligently 
  trying to maintain a healthy relationship with their children from
  prior marriages.

  Thank you very much for allowing me to bend your ear and I hope to hear
  from you in the near future regarding this issue.



  Sincerely,

  Kenn Jackson

    Great letter Kenn!  Keep us posted, will you?
    
    Karen

    Can we us this as a chain letter to our PSA folk?? I came close myself
    to this situation and feel that it is still to the best interst if all
    to work the issue.

  I have the same problem with me being in New Hampshire and my child
being in Maryland.  I don't like being in the HMO I'm in, but was
forced into it since there are only two HMO's in my area that participate
in Healthnet and the Digital Medical Plans were cost prohibitive.   The
problem is that I'm not happy with the service and it's a 35 mile trip to
the HMO.  Secondly, I took Jen to the HMO when she was up here and
additional tests were needed.  Since they had canceled my original
appointment and the second appointment was the day before she went back
to Maryland, I couldn't get her in for the rest of the tests.  The HMO
refused to give me a recommendation that she have further tests giving
as a reason that hospitals in the DC area would not accept his
recommendation.  So we had to start from scratch when she got back to
Maryland.

Gary

re: .7    Thanks Karen! and I will keep ya posted!!!!

re: .8    George, feel free to point my letter out and that it was posted
          in the NCPI conference but I don't feel comfortable having it become
          a "chain letter".  Also I feel that this is the appropriate 
          conference for it and that it should not be cross-posted in any 
	  other conference unless someone can defend their position why it 
	  should be.

	  BUT, feel free to use the contents of the letter to pass along...



	  Kenn

Good letter Ken.  I called two out of the three HMO's in my area.  The other
one we've heard some negative things about so I didn't bother checking with
them.  One of the two I called told me they could not cover the children in 
another state.  The other one is doing some checking to see if the children 
at school rule only applies to college students or if it can be applied to 
elementary school children.

In the meantime, I am waiting for my PSA to call me back so I can set up an
appointment to talk to her about this.  The person that I talked to in
personnel a few minutes ago when I left a message for the PSA said she had
heard of several people in our situation.

Someone mentioned getting the word out to others in this situation that do
not read this file - do you think posting something in the Digital and/or 
Parenting notes file be worth considering ?

Leslie

    I would suggest that you also try two additional paths:
    
    (1) find out from your PSA, or health services person, which VP chairs
    the Benefits Committee and DIRECTLY send a copy of the letter to that
    VP.
    
    (2) submit a suggestion to the Corporate DELTA Council (access info via
    VTX) as a productivity improvement suggestion: ie. if a number of
    employees are spending time and energy worrying about healthcare &
    costs for their children their productivity is decreased.  If this
    issue is addressed, they stop worrying and their productivity goes up.
    DELTA has access and visibility to/from a lot of different areas.
    
    Good luck,
    
    Steve
    

  Leslie,

  I wouldn't mind posting it somewhere, where it will do the most good
  but I just don't see having it posted in many of the conferences.  Before
  it does get posted though, I would like to hear from my PSA to see what
  they can find out about it.  It doesn't look very promising because time
  is so short with the holidays coming up so I am looking outside for coverage.

  If anyone wishes to cross post it, then feel free to send me mail.  I
  won't object but if it is posted, then I would hope in all fairness, I
  would be notified to which conference it will be put in.  I would also
  ask that any responses to the posting be answered in the NCPI conference
  so that it would be centralized and could be monitored more effectively.
  
  Also, to everyone who wishes to post the letter, it should not be 
  construed as a *b!tch* letter but a letter asking that our situations
  are tender in nature already.  As someone sent me mail already, this
  will hurt them even further financially because they are already giving
  approx. 35-40% of their wages in child support.


  Thanks,

  Kenn

Kenn,

I actually wasn't thinking about posting your note in the other conferences,
but just raising the issue and pointing people here to this note if it was 
something that concerned them -- ie they are in the same situation.  I can 
certainly understand your reservations about having your memo posted all over 
the place, and about having it misconstrued as just a complaint, rather than 
an inquiry into what your options are, and a hope that something might change.

Leslie

    
    The employes who do not live in the Dec-managed (I forget te formal
    name) and take Plan2 at a substantially reduced rate.  Still not
    cheap.
    
    One possible solution to this is that in cases where the employee
    is *required* to proved coverage for dependents and those dependents
    live outside the Dec-manamed areas, then employ can obtanin Plan2
    at the out-of-area price.
    
    I wonder if it would help to cross-post this in HUMAN::DIGITAL??
    fred();

Since it was my wife who started this note, I feel somewhat obliged to follow 
up with what I have discovered so far.

I have contacted the local (S. NH/N. MA.) HMO (Harvard) THREE times now, and 
each time I have gotten the same story, so I am reasonably comfortable with 
the truth of it.  If I provide the HMO with a document from the childrens'
school in Colorado which states that they are full time students there, then
any medical expenses will be covered, and there are no restrictions as to the
doctor that they see. 

CAVEATS: *NO* prescriptions are covered (YUCK!).  *NO* "well" care (e.g. 
physicals) is covered.  All of that would have to be done locally when the 
children are with us.

About the best option I can come up with is to have their mother & step father 
carry them on their HMO (they are already paying the family rate so there's 
no incremental cost to them) and re-imburse them their our of pocket expenses. 
That way, the kids are covered no matter where they are.  

Cheers,

Greg...

    I've sent the following:
    
From:  John A.J. Bean (Tony)
BADGE:	137679
MS:	PKO3-2/P17
DTN:	223-4438


TO: FRAN BASTIEN


Last year, during the open enrollment period for HEALTH-NET, I was very
disappointed that the Corporation did not consider the needs of the many Non
Custodial Parents who lived in the HEALTH-NET areas, but, who have children 
living in other areas.  

I discussed this concern with my PSA (I was working in BUO) and she admitted
there was a "problem", and said the company was "working on it".

When I received the "Your Choices for 1992" Open Enrollment booklet recently, I
was very disappointed (but somehow, not surprised) that the "problem" was not
addressed at all, and has, in fact, been compounded!

What is this "problem"?  I'll explain:

I live in Mass.  I work in PKO.  Digital is literally driving its employees
into selecting one of several HMO medical plans offered by local HMO providers. 
I doubt anyone can fault the Company for this cost saving measure.  I would
happily convert my own insurance to one of the HMOs offered.
 
However, my dependent children... for whom I have a moral and legal obligation
to provide medical insurance... live in San Antonio, Texas.

There are NO HMOs OFFERED IN SAN ANTONIO!  And even if there were, coverage
for me would not be offered by a San Antonio HMO, just as no local HMO will
cover my children's medical needs in San Antonio.  

I am therefor constrained to rely on the Digital Medical Plan 1 or 2... at
excessive cost!

Digital Employees in San Antonio are charged $9.79 per week for the DMP-1
family plan, and just $23.92 per week for DMP-2.  But, for me to provide the
same coverage HERE, I must pay $44.34 per week for DMP-1 or $59.00 per week for
DMP-2!!!  Does Digital seriously consider that the actual costs of coverage
warrant this extreme discrepancy in the cost for medical insurance for the same
plans; for the same insurance; but in different geographic areas?  It is
obvious that the cost of DMP-1 and DMP-2 in areas where HMOs are offered is
being elevated to force employees onto those HMO plans.  This is to the great
disadvantage of those of us who, because we have a moral and LEGAL (court
ordered) obligation to provide medical insurance are UNABLE TO SWITCH TO AN
HMO!

If I choose the alternative HMO Elect Program, I receive excessively reduced
benefits for my children and greatly increased deductible limits and
out-of-pocket maximums.

This is unacceptable for me... and for many other Non Custodial Parents, many
of whom I am in contact with and have expressed similar concerns.

Digital Benefits Group needs to address this situation immediately.  It has
been a full year now since the "problem" was discovered... and the course of
action is clear:  Immediately provide an equitable and affordable insurance 
package that includes the special needs for those employees who have 
dependents requiring medical insurance in geographic areas other than where 
the employee resides!

    The following mail is the reply I got to Fran Bastien.  It is posted
    here without his permission, so I'll let the moderators decide whether
    it will stay.
    
    tony
    
From:	ICS::BASTIEN      27-NOV-1991 11:27:25.94
To:	ESMAIL::BEAN
CC:	
Subj:	RE: PROBLEM WITH INSURANCE PACKAGE

I have heard the same concern from several people, and our position at this 
point is as follows. We do feel you have choices: either DMP1, DMP2 or HMO
Elect. Granted, because you live in an area where we offer the HMO Elect
program, we have implementedthe pricing strategy (the Company supports the
HMO cost structure more than it has in the past meaning if you stay in the
DMPs you will have to pick up more of the cost) driven by our managed care
efforts. I would also remind you that contributions to all the programs are
taken on a pre-tax basis, so even though you are looking at gross costs of 
$44.35 (DMP1) or $59 (DMP2), your takehome pay will go down something less
than that because you do not pay taxes on these amounts (somewhere in the
ballpark of $35 and $45, respectively). I would suggest you seriously
consider the HMO Elect program. Harvard's cost is $21.45 a week, so just
in payroll deductions you save from $1000-$2000/year. You could be covered
by HArvard and your dependents in Texas through the out of network benefit.
Ambulatory coverage is only 10% less than DMPs (70% vs. 80%) and deductibles
are only $50/person more. Have you considered this?

Fran

    I sent the following memo to my personnel reps today.  Needless to say,
    I'm TICKED!  We are NOT getting the coverage that was elected.
    
    ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGg!!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: Group Health Coverage

    Patti and Ann,
    
    I got my Group Health packet today.  There was not a card in there for 
    my son, who I added to my medical coverage during open enrolloment.
    
    When I called Group Health, they said he was not eligible for coverage 
    from Group Health because he doesn't live here in the area and because 
    he isn't a college student.  WHY WEREN'T WE TOLD THIS DURING THE 
    MEETINGS IN NOVEMBER?????  I made it very clear that I am a 
    non-custodial parent and that my son lives out of state.  What I was 
    told was that GH would cover him for emergencies only out of state.  
    Now I'm told he's not covered at all?????  Yes, he is covered under the 
    elect plan, WHICH is MORE money out of MY pocket.  Also, this is a 
    separate issue.  I was told he WOULD be covered under the Group Health 
    policy out-of-state for emergencies.
    
    Yes, I am angry at the moment.  I feel that this fact was very 
    conveniently hidden, only to be found out after the open enrollment.  I 
    want my son covered under the option I chose.  This is misrepresenation 
    at the least.
    
    I hope this problem can be resolved by having my son covered under the 
    Group Health plan.
    
    Karen
    
    

    My son had a son in April '93.  My son is our dependent.  According
    to the benefits information, a dependent's child is automatically
    covered by our health insurance.  There is no mention in the
    requirements that the dependent or the child need to be living with us. 
    Our grandchild lives with his mother, and my son and her are not
    married.  
    
    However, our PSA mentioned that they both need to be living with us. 
    Is this the case?
    
    Jim

    
    Probably need to check with your personell rep. or call theh insurance
    company directly about this one.
    fred();

    As a follow up, the answer was "not covered".  The dependent's child
    needs to be living with us and basically meet all the requirements of
    the dependent.
    
    Jim