IMPORTANT OPEN ENROLLMENT INFORMATION FOR ALL AT&T WIRELINE EMPLOYEES!!!
ATTENTION ALL ATT EMPLOYEES:
It is crucial that you go into HR Onestop to enroll for your 2021 Healthcare Benefits!
There are some significant changes to the benefit plans and charges!
First off, the company has eliminated two of the previous healthcare options.
Health Net and United Healthcare are Not being offered for the 2021 plan year!
The only plans that Are being offered is the company plan – Blue Cross, (Option 1 and Option 2) and Kaiser.
Another distinct change has to do with two potential surcharges that could significantly increase your monthly healthcare bill!
What is really concerning about these two new surcharges is that the boxes that indicate that these charges would apply to the employee have been pre-populated with checkmarks!
The company has pre-populated two sections of the document that, even if they don’t apply to you, can cause you to be erroneously charged if you do not uncheck these boxes!!
The first is a Smokers surcharge of $60 per person per month! When you go into that section, this box is pre populated with a check mark for the employee And their spouse. That is what occurred when I went in to enroll for 2021 benefits. (BTW, I Don’t have a spouse)! Had I not unchecked these two boxes, I would have been charged $120 a month! $60 a month for myself and $60 a month for my non existent spouse.
If you are Not a smoker, you Must uncheck both of these boxes or you will be charged.
Of course, if you (and/or your spouse) Is a smoker, you would keep those boxes checked.
The Company Does offer a smokers cessation program that, (if you Are a smoker) if you enroll in this program and complete it, the Smokers surcharge will be waived.
The other surcharge that is also pre-populated with checkmarks is the Working Spouse surcharge.
If you have a spouse that has the ability to provide healthcare benefits from their employer and you choose Not to exercise this option, you will be charged a $100 a month surcharge for having them on your benefit plan!
Again, if this does Not apply to you, you must uncheck this box to avoid the $100 a month surcharge.
When I enrolled in my 2021 benefits, this box for my “working spouse” was automatically pre populated!
Again, I have No spouse; yet this box was already checked!
I believe the pre population of these boxes is very deceptive and borders on “trickery” to bilk money out of our members pockets!
I will be requesting that the company send out an email to all ATT employees to advise them of these pre checked boxes and to make sure that the employee is aware of the potential monetary consequences they will incur if these boxes remain checked / populated! I cannot guarantee that the company will adhere to my request.
That being said, we also recommend that employees print out a copy of your open enrollment selections / coverage to avoid any problems later on! It is always better to be proactive rather than reactive!
If you discover that you have been inappropriately charged once your benefits begin in January, notify your local union representative and we will file a grievance on the error.
Reminder: the deadline for this years open enrollment for AT&T employees is November 13!
In Unity,
Marisa
Marisa Remski
President CWA Local 9003