This question was posted down below:
Is it true there is a 2 million dollar lifetime cap on union member's health care?
Good question. The plan book states: "Each participant or dependent is subject to a lifetime maximum of $2 million paid by the Active Health Plan for benefits ...(p. 44, Active Motion Picture Industry Health Plan Summary Plan Description, July 2007).
There's a few additional wrinkles to this, which anyone who's a participant in the Motion Picture Industry Health Plan should know about ...
Wrinkle One: The lifetime maximum will be reduced to the extent such type of benefits have been paid by the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund, Directors Guild of American-Producer Health Plan, Screen Actors Guild-Producers Health Plan, AFTRA Health Fund or successor plans.
Wrinkle Two: The Plan office informs me that once an Active Health Plan participant becomes a Retired Health Plan participant, the Retiree health benefit cap starts at zero, and a retiree is good for another $2 million worth of benefits ...
Lastly: I'm giving you general info here, not holy writ. For the complete Summary Plan document, you need only click here, and all the glorious details of the (Active) Motion Picture Health Plan will be revealed to you.
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6 comments:
Is there a way to find out how much money individuals have used up?
Two million dollars is not a lot of money, especially when you compare it to the six million dollar cap non-union studio employees get.
I think we need to negotiate a higher cap.
Two million dollars is not a lot of money, especially when you compare it to the six million dollar cap non-union studio employees get.
So who's got the six-million cap, exactly? And who stays with one company long enough in this project-to-project work environment to hit a six-million cap?
Nobody.
So how generous of a company -- knowing that no one will ever get near them -- to offer high caps.
OTHOH, no question that a long-term plan like the MPIPHP should have higher life-time caps. In fact, it's been raised in the last few years. (Might have been three years ago but I'm not sure of the date.)
The union side has consistently pushed for higher caps over the years. But the MPIPHP is a Taft-Hartley Plan, jointly run by unions and companies ... and companies have a large say in the design of the health plan.
OTHOH.
What the hell is OTHOH?
A typo is what it is.
Should have been: On The Other Hand.
Steve, who cares if most people don't stay long enough at other companies to enjoy the 6 million dollar cap on their medical coverage?!?
The point is 2 million dollars is pathetic and we need to raise the cap.
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