Medical benefits are perhaps one
of the most valuable parts of the Union contract. If a member
or their dependent should find themselves in need of medical care
or prescription drugs, they will get the best medical care at
a very minimal out-of-pocket expense.
Thanks to Union members holding the line (through strikes and
vocal demonstrations) 751's medical benefits are among the best
in the country. As negotiations near, several members felt compelled
to step forward and share their own personal experience to illustrate
the importance of this valuable benefit.
Two members share how our medical insurance has impacted their
lives. (Union Benefits Saved My Wife
and Prescription Coverage Saves Member
Thousands Each Month)
By James Groh, 751 Union Member
While I was a Union Steward for
14 years, I never ran short of people who liked to complain about
their union dues. If you have one of those people in your shop,
just point out this article and ask them to read it. My story
illustrates the importance of Union negotiated health care benefits
and how valuable they are.
The Diagnosis
My wife, Young, and I were simply not prepared for the curve life
threw our way when she was diagnosed with leukemia. One day she
simply passed out at work (she owned and operated a small business
in downtown Seattle while I drove from our home to the Everett
Plant every weekday). Four days later it happened again.
Our physician at Group Health sent her to see a specialist after
something turned up unusual in her blood counts. There was another
exam and then an anxious wait for test results, dreading the possible
conclusions. CML, a form of leukemia was the diagnosis. Without
a bone marrow transplant, my wife would only have one to three
more years to live (closer to one).
Waiting
for Treatment (February 2001)
Young, and I were sitting next to each other anxiously holding
hands below the conference room table. I had just taken off my
surgical mask, myself having a bad cold. Our meeting was in a
conference room on a floor where a lot of people didn't have
any hair or working immune systems -- after-effects of their cancer
treatments. The examining doctor from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center had just left us alone in the room after Young's
preliminary admissions interview.
The door opened again and the next person who came in was a young
woman from the finance department. She reviewed the doctor's papers
describing the required course of treatment. She hesitated before
saying, "Well, you have a donor and approval for Young as
a candidate for a bone marrow stem cell transplant. But, we have
to check your insurance coverage before we can go any further."
"Why is that?", I asked.
She responded, "If your insurer declines coverage for this
procedure, we'll need a cash deposit of $200,000."
We went home feeling very anxious. Two days later everything had
worked through the system, and we learned our insurance covered
this procedure. Group Health no longer considered bone marrow
stem cell transplant as an experimental procedure. All that we
were going to have to pay for was a plane ticket for the bone
marrow donor, and the outpatient office visit co-payments.
At that moment, there was only one thought running through my
mind: "Thank God for a Union Job!" My wife now had at
least an 80% chance of survival.
Home for
the Holidays (Dec. 2001)
It feels like a lifetime has passed since that moment. There was,
and still is, no magic bullet cure. Today, I have my wife at home.
In November, she was released back to Group Health from the Seattle
Cancer Care Alliance. Young spent 36 days in the hospital for
the transplant and had just returned from another 43-day stay
caused by complications from transplant rejection conditions.
Through all of this, I've only had to pay the co-payments on about
$700 worth of drugs and office visits. Add in another $3,000 of
personal spending for parking and bone marrow donor transportation
by air from overseas. The total transplant bill, so far, is somewhere
over $400,000.
There is, of course, no dollar value that I can place on what
I received in return. I got to spend the holidays once again with
my wife as she continues her recovery. For this, during the holiday
season, I was very thankful. The medical team that performed the
transplant and provided care during her initial recovery is one
of the best in the world, and for that I am deeply grateful. For
the bargaining agreement that gave us the medical insurance and
the negotiated benefits that made this possible, I will remain
always thankful. Union Yes!
751-Member
Alfred Johnson sees the value of his Union-negotiated medical
benefits every month. For the rest of his life, Johnson must take
a very expensive drug to control his diabetes. Instead of having
to fret about the cost of the prescription, he simply pays the
$5 co-pay on the Boeing Traditional prescription drug plan.
Just how valuable is this plan? For Johnson it is hard to measure.
He must take a prescription called Regranex, which is made by
only one company in the world and sells for $2,600 per tube. Following
his doctor's recommendation, Johnson goes through about 7 tubes
every three months or the equivalent of over $18,000 in prescriptions
each quarter.
Johnson noted, "Most members have no idea what their prescriptions
cost because they simply pay the minimum prescription co-pay.
Since I happen to know the cost of my prescription, it is critical
to maintain this coverage - especially since I will be on this
medication the rest of my life. The cost of this one prescription
alone would pay for a new car several times each year."
Johnson has had other examples of the importance of our medical
insurance. He also suffers from sleep apnea. To remedy this ailment,
his doctor prescribed a machine called c-pap.
Johnson added, "The c-pap machine costs $1,500, but it didn't
cost me anything because I had already fulfilled my deductible.
If you ever question just what our insurance benefits are worth,
remember my story."