[rhezick]

Can anyone comment on the rumor I heard from a current employee that at the all staff meeting recently jerry/randy are considering moving employees from anthem to medashare? I'm assuming this isn't true due to how abursd it sounded... But dumb things have been done before so I figured I'd see if this was valid.

[Old Red]

It’s true. My wife was at that meeting. Hopefully this doesn’t come to pass.

[JK37]

Educate us all. What would a movemlike this mean?

[Purple Haize]

I would also be interested in the details. As I look at it on the surface it’s probably going to save the University a ton of money. However, I don’t know if Medishare is offering products to compete with Anthem

[Jonathan Carone]

The interesting part to me about a switch like this is that it would illustrate to some exactly why employment based health care isn’t sustainable.

[SumItUp]

Why is employment based health care not sustainable?

[Purple Haize]

The interesting part to me about a switch like this is that it would illustrate to some exactly why employment based health care isn’t sustainable.

You want to go back to Pre WW2 set up?

[Jonathan Carone]

I don’t know where I land on the healthcare realm at this point. I see arguments on both sides. My comment was about how Jerry - a guy who is as anti-healthcare for all as it gets - would be approving a policy change that would make some of his employees come to the decision that healthcare shouldn’t be tied to your employer because your employer will always take the cheapest option.

[Purple Haize]

I don’t know where I land on the healthcare realm at this point. I see arguments on both sides. My comment was about how Jerry - a guy who is as anti-healthcare for all as it gets - would be approving a policy change that would make some of his employees come to the decision that healthcare shouldn’t be tied to your employer because your employer will always take the cheapest option.

I’m all about the Private Sector handling it and tightening up our Country’s safety net. Employers offer healthcare as a perk If that perk goes away then it will be harder to recruit and retain talent.

[rhezick]

Okay so now that I know this is true, I just have to say am I the only one that doesn't find this insane? THIS ISN'T INSURANCE. I worked at Liberty for 11 years and I can't imagine the thought of working at a place without insurance. How is this even rationally being considered for a 5000 person employer? Is LU that hard up for cash that the "burdens" of paying insurance are that awful? Im really dumbfounded by this. How are more employees not up I arms about this? Considering we're in an employee job market, this just seems.... weird on so many levels.

[adam42381]

What is medashare?

EDIT: Is it Medi-Share? If so, it sounds insane for an employer the size of Liberty.

https://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/ ... are-works/

[jack_sparrow81]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ptmoney.co ... eview/amp/

This is actually a decent review and explanation of it. I've known a couple of people that have used it for awhile and they like it. I've always heard advertisements for it on the radio and thought it was only sharing program around but their actually the 2nd largest next to a program called Liberty Health Share

[adam42381]

It will be interesting to see if there are exceptions to their pre-existing conditions policy.

https://www.medishare.com/blog/how-does ... conditions

[rhezick]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ptmoney.co ... eview/amp/

This is actually a decent review and explanation of it. I've known a couple of people that have used it for awhile and they like it. I've always heard advertisements for it on the radio and thought it was only sharing program around but their actually the 2nd largest next to a program called Liberty Health Share

Yea I think the big difference here is if you need some bare bones assistance, great. But let's be clear. This is not insurance. Theyre very upfront about that. I can't imagine anyone being okay not having insurance for their family. I mean, I guess if LU wants to help accelerate the mass exodus of people, this is a great way of doing it. It's almost like this came out of the onion.

[Yacht Rock]

Nearly all of my employers as an adult have always invested in pretty strong medical plans. A lot of employers don’t simply offer the cheapest options.

[Purple Haize]

Nearly all of my employers as an adult have always invested in pretty strong medical plans. A lot of employers don’t simply offer the cheapest options.

Yeah mostly mine have too. I had one employer who sorts skimped one year but the uproar was such that they beefed it up the following year.
This seems like a cost savings move by the University

[rhezick]

But I guess that's the question, why do they need cost savings measures like this? Is LU that hard up for money? And more importantly, when has any employer of this size ever stripped its employees of insurance.

[alabama24]

approving a policy change that would make some of his employees come to the decision that healthcare shouldn’t be tied to your employer because your employer will always take the cheapest option.

[adam42381]

If it’s Christian it ought to be cheaper.

[Purple Haize]

If it’s Christian it ought to be cheaper.

Well LU is a Ministry so.....

[rhezick]

I think there's a big difference between "cost saving" and lunacy. I don't know how this doesn't put fear into people who work there who need health insurance (aka every employee). What kind of recruiting pitch do they use now when extending offers to applicants? LU: "We'd like to offer you a job. We'll start you off at 30k and matching retirement." Applicant: "So what about health insurance?" LU: Waives hand in jedi fashion and says "These aren't the health insurance plans your looking for...because, well, seriously we don't offer any insurance. So good luck with that!"

[Veritas]

Surprising move. Not a good experience for the employee. We evaluated Medi-Share as a potential option for our business at startup but discovered two show stoppers (in addition to the “not insurance” aspect) - 1) pre existing conditions appear to be a common escape valve for conditions such as cancer and 2) adding a wrap around short term or other ancillary medical policy creates significant administrative headaches for employees in terms of billing, provider networks, etc. In the end, we went to a United PPO plan. For what it’s worth, the cost differential was around $1200/month (Medi-Share $800, United Small Group PPO Gold, $2000, family coverage, full cost). Obviously the numbers will differ at enterprise scale but these figures are illustrative of the cost savings.

[Sly Fox]

I have been self-employed for the past 13 years and have ridden the wave of changing plans and costs. We have looked at this program and others like it from time to time, But from a cost perspective, we have generally landed with getting a catastrophic coverage plan from a major carrier on the cheap and then eating all other costs out fo pocket for our family of five. The costs of group plans have spiraled out of control. Anyone on here who is an employer knows how significant it is. That's why Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and others are working up there own version of insurance becuas the current model is broken.

Bottom line, there is no question that this is a move backward from an employee perspective. But there are creative options emerging nearly daily. I have had 5 different plans for my family in the past two years constantly searching for the best fit as policies get close to expire. It is no fun but it is possible to make it work.

[rogers3]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ptmoney.co ... eview/amp/

This is actually a decent review and explanation of it. I've known a couple of people that have used it for awhile and they like it. I've always heard advertisements for it on the radio and thought it was only sharing program around but their actually the 2nd largest next to a program called Liberty Health Share

Yea I think the big difference here is if you need some bare bones assistance, great. But let's be clear. This is not insurance. Theyre very upfront about that. I can't imagine anyone being okay not having insurance for their family. I mean, I guess if LU wants to help accelerate the mass exodus of people, this is a great way of doing it. It's almost like this came out of the onion.

Just another day at Liberty...glad I'm not there. To think that there is no control by the board.

[jbock13]

Third party healthcare is one of the reasons that healthcare is so expensive. Welcome to the future where you pay for your own healthcare. For most, this will be beneficial. Welcome to the future.