Conference 7.286::digital

    For a while, my wife the HMO coverage (including dependent) while
    I had John Hancock. That allowed us to use our HMO and our
    chiropractor.
    
    Canobie tickets are another ponderable. What are you gonna do with
    all those tickets?
    
    SAVE, stock, and other gems are up to you. We kick in money from
    both paychecks, figuring that, if it's good for one, it's good for
    both.

    I can tell you how my husband and I handle it.  We both do SAVE, LTD,
    optional life insurance, and stock purchase. (Remember that SAVE is
    retirement money you are putting away BEFORE taxes and accumulated by
    your social security number for tax purposes.)  He has the house and
    car insurances deducted from his pay and I have the dependent life and
    medical deducted from my pay.  I also have a DCU deduction for my car
    loan. 
    
    I works out well since we have a joint checking account and both
    checks are on direct deposit.  Can't wait for next Spring when my
    car is paid off...
    
                   
    Patti
    
                    

    I forgot to mention that we both let DEC pay for John Hancock Medical
    insurance and I pay for dependent coverage for the baby.  The only
    problem I have had is with the hospital assuming that my husband's
    insurance (by badge with John Hancock) covered the bills.  After persisting
    with the billing department of Emerson to change my base record on
    their computer system (a VAX computer), that has been straightened
    out.  (It defaults to husband as guarantor.)  Ask your PSA if it would
    save DEC or you money to have your wife as a dependent on your medical
    insurance.  It's costing me ~$9.00/week for medical coverage for my baby.
                                                        
    FWIW, my husband worked at DEC first.
    
    Patti
    

        You should talk to your PSA about health insurance coverage,
        as there are some complicated options.  Clearly, only one of
        you should purchase dependent coverage, and I believe that
        it's possible for you to cover your wife under your dependent
        coverage, as well as your children.  There was a memo about
        this that I saw several months ago, perhaps in Mgmt Memo, but
        I can't find it right now.
        
        Things like SAVE, stock, LTD, and life insurance are on a per-
        person basis.  You have to decide what insurance you need and
        what is the best way to buy it, but it's hard to go wrong with
        the DEC plans for LTD and additional life coverage.  Similarly,
        you have to decide about saving for retirement, for which both
        the SAVE plan and stock purchase are good approaches.  (Stock
        may also be a good way to save money to finance college for
        your children, if you see that in the future.)
        
        Tom

    Note that the "legal" way to determine the primary carrier when
    you both have health insurance that covers each other is by the
    birthday of each, the one withethe earliest birthday (not birthdate)
    is the primary.
    
    The health coverage is the primary thing that gets tangled up, followed
    by the choices for life insurance (two primary versus one primary
    and one dependent).
    
    The best way is to simply run the numbers, calculate the costs for
    each variation and minimize.
    
    
    Getting personnel to understand what you want may be another story:
    
    My wife's employer offers HMO and Blue Cross.  Since they kick in
    the same amount for either plan, and since BC is HIGH, family coverage
    for HCHP thru her was less than thru DEC (for "exactly" the same
    coverage).  So she picked me up and I wanted to "drop" health coverage
    at DEC.  We went round and round at personnel...  Finally they decided
    that I had to have at least individual coverage, so now I have JH,
    which costs me nothing (unless I tell the HMO, in which case I'm
    back to filling out forms and calculating deductables).  But it
    took three visits to Personnel and finally the magic phrase "If
    you're not able to figure out a way to do this, maybe we should
    see your supervisor and perhaps all of us can fingure it out".
    
    /s/ Jim Williams

  > ...I believe that it's possible for you to cover your wife under your
  > dependent coverage, as well as your children. 
    
    You mean, I can cover my husband as a dependent on the HMO, and
    he can cover me as a dependent on JH, and we can both have access
    to either or both health plans as we desire????  I thought that
    was not allowed.  If it is, it's sure a good deal!
    
    							Pat

    Re .6
    
    This can be expensive.  It costs me $3/week for HMO coverage for
    myself and $15/week for my wife.
    
    
    michael
    

    I (I'm quoting our accountant now) strongly recommend that your
    spouse join the SAVE plan.  It's skimmed right off the top, you
    don't pay taxes on it till you get the funds, and it is a good 
    way to save for retirement.  
    
    I agree with the noter who recommended that you split up the
    benefits to see what works best for you.  My feeling is, both
    of you should have SAVE and LTD for your own selves.  Perhaps
    the person with the higher salary could carry the health insurance...
    
    FWIW, my husband has Blue Cross Master Health Plus where he works,
    and I carry JH (including dependent coverage).  Our experience has
    been that, what BC doesn't pick up, JH frequently does.  Last year
    Mike had a lot of tests performed in connection with his annual
    physical, and after all was said and done, we paid only $30 for
    everything.  And when our son was born in March, JH picked up all
    but $125.  That included a C-section, 5 days in a private room,
    circumcision, the whole works.
    
    Good luck...welcome your wife to DEC for us!
    
    KAte

    Insurance companies in Massachusetts do not understand coordination
    of benefits between two working spouses as well as other parts of
    the country.  In Illinois, insurance companies resolved overlapping
    health coverage directly between themselves, no hassle to the
    individual.
    
    Digital in Mass. did not understand, at one time, the advantages
    of couples both working for DEC getting only one set of health
    insurance, not two.  But the company is learning.

    My husband and I both work for DEC.  We live in New Orleans, and
    HMO is not an option.  
   
    You and your spouse can both take SAVE, LTD, optional life, and
    dependent life.  However, you CAN NOT both get John Hancock coverage.
    
    DEC will cover each of you, and your own bills must be submitted
    with each individual badge number.  If you have children, you
    would submit claims under whichever of you have dependent covreage.
    This becomes a problem if you meet the family deductible, by not
    your personal.  If you call personnel, they will "fix it", but it
    will take a lot  of talking.  
    
    When she joins DEC, call JH and let them know.  JH should put a
    "pointer" in your records to your spouses record.  It does not always
    work as it should, so be careful - especially with deductibles.
   

    My wife is also finally joining the company after DECtemp-ing for
    a year (Ugghhh!).

    I currently have HMO coverage (myself and dependant, which up to
    now covered her and our son).

    I'm wondering if she gets JH coverage for herself (no cost), will
    we have full coordination of benefits on any services not covered
    in full?  Stock, SAVE, LTD are fairly obvious to do, but the
    health coverage issue is still somewhat confusing, even after
    reading the prior replies in this note.  Her new-employee
    orientation is tomorrow morning, and I have half a mind to tag
    along with her to see what personnel says about all this.

    2 more double-digits in the ranks -

    Regards,

		Al (6+ yrs)

    Since I am not allowed to have HMO coverage, I can not answer from
    that view.
    
    However, although my husband carries JH dependent medical, in order
    to cover our two children.  JH covers me for free since I am an
    employee.  If I did not work for the company I would be covered
    under my husband's policy.  However, since I do work for the company,
    I am covered under my own policy.  I can not collect any benefits
    under his policy.
    
    Before my husband worked for DEC, we both had dependent coverage
    through our employeers.  His policy covered what mine did not. 
    Since we now both work for DEC, we can not do this. 
    
    
    

.12>    Since I am not allowed to have HMO coverage, I can not answer from
.12>    that view.
        
        Could you clarify this?  Why are you "not allowed to have HMO
        coverage"?  Is it because it's not available in your area, or were
        you told by someone that, because your husband is covered under
        John Hancock, you can not select an HMO?  I could understand the
        former, but I don't believe the latter is Digital's policy. 
        
        Tom

    SORRY - HMO coverage is not available in your area.  Very poor wording
    on my part.  The whole note was poor wording - I thought I said
    NO for add note to the confrence, but it added it anyway.  I must
    had made a typo.
    
    Sorry again.
    
    Janet

    Gee, seems like you might see some tax savings if you file
    separately and take all the SAVE from the higher salary. Not so?