upsondown
LawnSite Senior Member
- Location
- culpeper, va
Would like to know if anyone else has run into a similar situation. I have an employee who has been with me for 16 years. I provide a full benefit package to my employees which includes paid health insurance. Eight years ago he was diagnosed with melanoma (for those that don't know - it's one of the most serious forms of skin cancer)... and received prompt diagnosis and treatment. Over the years he has had followup visits and last year was listed as "cancer free" by his attending physicians - who provided documentation to our insurance carrier. Here's the problem: At the time of his diagnosis his premium was $245 monthly. Since that time it has steadily risen because of the treatments he received to where I now pay $875.00 per month for his insurance. I have spent many hours on the phone with our attorney and the insurance carrier - BCBS.... and the only advice I was given to decrease the cost of insurance would be to drop him from our policy or fire him. To me - neither one of those are options. This man has been an empoyee that every employer dreams of being able to find.......even when having chemotherapy - he showed up and wanted to work, never calls in sick - and works as many hours overtime as I need him to do. I think it's a lousy day in America when it would come down to rewarding such faithfulness of an employee in the way that the insurance company suggests - and I won't have any part of it !! I got quotes from other carriers - Aetna, State Farm, among others - and they would love to have our business - BUT - the policy that they would write for him - would exclude any coverage for his "pre-existing" condition - even though the doctors determined and documented that he is cancer free. I have appealed to the insurance commissioner in Virginia - and got no results. I wrote to elected officials and got the standard jargon that politicians tell their constituents. So unless any of you guys have suggestions of how to deal with this - we'll just keep paying the high cost of his health insurance - cause I sure as hell ain't gonna fire him !!!! Your thoughts?
Dave
Dave