We Need Real Healthcare, Not GE Wealthcare
Everybody agrees the GE healthcare cuts have hurt. That’s why, in 2015 negotiations, UE is demanding that GE restore rational employee health insurance that covers our needs and is simple to use. GE now pays almost 10% less for our health benefits than it did in 2011, while our deductibles and co-pays have escalated.
As our costs rise, workers and our families are doing without care. From 2011 to 2013, GE hospital admissions dropped 14%, outpatient radiology visits were down 11%, ER visits declined 12%, and specialist visits were 4% lower.
GE cuts in prescription drug coverage best illustrate what’s happened overall. Company pharmacy costs per worker are down 11% from 2011 to 2013, while in the same period employee drug costs are up 11% - even though the typical GE family now fills 8.3% less prescriptions per year. We’re paying more money for less care.
Adding to the misery, GE dumped on us the responsibility for getting the bills paid, many of us spend several hours a week trying to get our claims paid. We’re hit with high deductibles, and then it’s up to us to try to get reimbursed by the HRA account or debit card, using a glitchy internet computer program.
While we’re paying more for less care, and spending many frustrating hours trying to get our bills paid, GE reaped more than $10 million in healthcare savings in 2012 and 2013 combined (*Based on GE total savings in both 2012 and 2013, compared to annual health care spending in 2011 for all hourly employees.)
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