MEC Benefits Committee
Annual Benefits Enrollment for Retirees started October 27th and will close on November 14th.
United management has sent several communications to Retirees (none of which had been reviewed by AFA prior to their publication), which has caused concern and confusion. Nothing has changed with Contractual Retiree medical coverage. United has sought, and continues seeking, to "sunset" (eliminate) Retiree coverage; however, AFA has not agreed to any change.
Please make sure that if you decide to change your plan, your doctors/clinics/hospitals remain "in-network" as any cost savings on monthly premiums will be lost if you end up paying "out of network" costs.
Costs for medical care in the U.S. continue to escalate for all active and retired employees, regardless of the industry. Such is the case at United. The Union is vigilant in our oversight of the rates and the impact they have on our Retirees. Negotiations will resume shortly and the Union expects the "sunset" of retiree medical insurance to be back on the table from United management.
NOTE: One enrollment issue to point out: Several state HMO (Health Maintenance Organizations) will not contract directly with United however accommodations have been made to allow Retirees to default into the same plan directly with HMO.
Keep in mind, during the Annual Enrollment window, you are able to make changes to your benefit enrollment selections as many times as you find necessary. For this reason, we recommend that you enroll early to ensure there are no problems with your ability to do so at the deadline. If you later find there is a reason to make a change, you can make those changes during the open enrollment window prior to November 14th.