President Greg Stout,
I am inquiring regarding some rumors regarding health care and was hoping that you could take the time to answer these questions:
1. Is there any truth that the city plans to operate its own clinics/pharmacies for employees? Does this include the employee’s dependents? What would this service cover?
2. If there is any truth to question #1, how will this affect the coverage Humana is willing to provide to the City of Tampa employees? Will employees pay co-pays for a visit to the “City” doctor or for “City” prescriptions?
3. Is there any truth that employees will be responsible for the first $1000 of any claims with Humana this year and that there will be a 90-10 % split after the deductible has been reached?
4. How will the new health care bill, aka Obamacare, affect the health insurance provided to employees, their families, and F&P retirees? Will employees and retirees be required to pay taxes on their health benefit? Will this benefit be taxed on our paychecks or just added to our W-2 at the end of the year as earned income? So if you were an MPO and earned 78K and had 3 dependents, what is the cost of your insurance? Is the price the same if you are single and have the EPO plan? Do you pay taxes on your health care benefit if you are retired?
5. What are the planned rate hikes for this year’s insurance coverage and does it relate to Question #3?
6. The PBA worked on trying to be able to sit in on negotiations for health care under the past president? Were any other providers consulted or available for city employees besides Humana?
7. Will the flex spending accounts still be available to employees?
Respectfully submitted,
Brian Bridgmon