United Health Care to start 0$ copay for insulin and some other drugs in 2023 for eligible plans. It’s a start.
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I am not sure that this announcement is anything more than a publicity stunt… IT'S JUST SPIN: UnitedHealth Group touts out-of-pocket savings that patients will never see.
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@Laddie That’s entirely possible. I don’t completely trust it as it says eligible plans. So it will either be subsidized plans or their premium plans. But it’s still a start. I think this has to do with a public knowledge that insulin is necessary to live for some, the costs that some pay with and without insurance, more pressures being put on Big Pharma etc. So they are trying to do some things to lessen the pressure…maybe.
It’s the same as I don’t trust what California is supposedly going to do either.
UHG (which I think is the same co) is the one that offered me $2.35/hour for a job doing full stack development during the pandemic. They told me there would be LOTS of overtime and that I had to sign a two-year contract at that rate in order to secure the positions.
First, I laughed. Then, I tried to negotiate because I thought (hoped) it was a typo. I told them that I couldn’t possibly work for less than $2.55 per hour. They said $2.35 was their highest possible offer. No one was more surprised than me that they put the whole negotiation into writing.
I sent the transcript to the State and it generated a bunch of phone conversations, but I don’t think anything bad happened to them. The State was irritated with them. They sorta said that they couldn’t do much about a plan to do something illegal. They said that if I accepted the offer and worked the job for $2.30/hour, they could do something after the fact, but not before. I think that simply making the State aware of what they were up to prevented a bunch of scammy activities on their end. I give myself a point for that one. Even small victories feel good against UHG.
The grad students nicknamed them, ‘The meat market.’ They are a local menace. I’m sure they are up to something unsavory. They always are. They are one of the companies in town that, whenever they call, I pick up the phone, just to find out what they are up to. When the Devil calls, I always pick up the phone. The Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia - YouTube
“ UnitedHealthcare is the health benefits business of UnitedHealth Group ”
That is very bazaar about the pay rate. If they offered it to you, that would have to mean they are certainly paying less to others? With most states I would think that would instigate an audit of the company since the offer was in writing. Then usually fines and retroactive pay. Do you think they technically found a way around the rules? Because federally that would have been below min wage too.
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Can you report them elsewhere? That does not seem legal, so far below what anyone makes now.
The State said that was their primary stick to hit misbehaving companies with. That’s why they said it was tricky unless I accepted the job and worked for a period of time at that rate. @meee, I don’t think I could report them to anyone higher than the State’s Labor dept. The State took some action. They were trying to higher 40 people at that rate. I had to kinda prompt the State that it seemed much simpler to deal with this issue right out of the gate, rather than waiting until they had screwed 40 people and then deal with it retroactively. They agreed. Phone calls were made. Letters were exchanged. The Beast was put back into its cage, temporarily.
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Yay!
I took a look at UHC’s formulary. Humalog is Tier 1, while Novolog is Tier 3. Unless the formulary for 2023 changes, my guess is Novolog won’t be eligible for $0 out of pocket.