Archived How many members have heath insurance through target

[Fyi]

Out of curiosity I’d like to know how many members actually have health insurance through target at present.

 

[SoCalMama]

I joined Target specifically for the health insurance. Once I had enough hours to qualify, I no longer needed it. Then, I needed it again in April, but I could not sign up again until February. So, I never got to use it. I always had over 30 hours. I usually had closer to 40 hours, until I worked at Starbucks (Tarbucks). There, I got 6 days a week at 4.75 hours each shift. I never had a steady schedule. I had openings, mids and closings, all random.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

A lot of tm's may be losing their insurance due to lack of hours. You must average 29.5 to keep them.

 

[Target_serf]

I had it for many years, before the great migration of hours. I lost it in 2014, got it back in 2015, then lost it again in 2016. Due to a busier Q4 schedule than usual, I qualified again this year (2019), barely. Needless to say, my schedules since have been...sparse. They want to make sure they don't repeat that mistake. The only plus side is that it increases the chance I qualify for Medicaid when I do lose it again.

 

[Llamanatee]

After 11 years with it, this will be my last year. My average hours just dropped to 28 and will drop to 20 or so before the end of the year. This is due to me only working 3 days a week. If I remember correctly a long time ago you only needed 18 or so hours to keep your insurance, but that changed after the ACA.

 

[idkwhattodo]

I have enough hours for it, but I’m still on parents insurance. I feel like that’s one of the reasons why they’re cool with giving me above 30 hours.

 

[Ringwraith917]

I lost it 3 years back due to low hours but have kept it up the last 2 years.

 

[Dog]

I have it

 

[NKG]

I do...I also went without insurance for a long time and now I regret it with all the health issues my child has

 

[dailypush]

I have it. Between insurance, 401k, and taxes, I bring home less than half I earn.

 

[Times Up]

I have it. Between insurance, 401k, and taxes, I bring home less than half I earn.

Yeah, but you are smart to have insurance and a 401(k)!

 

[GreasyGary]

I'm eligible, but as a smoker I decided not to take it since that smoker tax is so damn expensive. I know other people at my store have lied and said they didn't smoke, but it didn't seem worth the risk for me.

I did take some of the supplemental coverage like critical illness and injury just so if something crazy happens I'm not totally boned.

 

[NPC]

Can a mod make the poll make sense please? For crying out loud. The options should be "no" and "no."

 

[PogDog]

I don't like Heath, so I didn't get any insurance of it.

 

[Rarejem]

Had it for the first 14 years I worked here. Then, after full time hours for 13 years, I lost it with a cut to 29.49 average hours. There is no doubt that the cuts were deliberate. I do have the supplemental insurance which was very helpful and well worth the cost during some recent health problems.

 

[Fyi]

So it seems roughly 65% have health insurance, what are people planning or have already done if they lost insurance or will lose it?

 

[busyzoningtoys]

So it seems roughly 65% have health insurance, what are people planning or have already done if they lost insurance or will lose it?

Remember that the user base here is going to be skewed; there are a lot more seasoned TMs here than there are cashiers who are only available sundays and tuesdays, or that one TM who closes only fridays, etc etc lol

 

[busyzoningtoys]

I'm eligible, but as a smoker I decided not to take it since that smoker tax is so damn expensive. I know other people at my store have lied and said they didn't smoke, but it didn't seem worth the risk for me.

I did take some of the supplemental coverage like critical illness and injury just so if something crazy happens I'm not totally boned.

I’m also a smoker. I have the insurance though, and pay the tobacco user fee. I read in the handbook (I think) that lying about tobacco user status is similar to defaulting on your REDcard; punishable by termination.

I’m lucky enough to be in decent enough health, I haven’t actually used my insurance since I’ve had it, but it is cheaper than the ACA alternative, and you get that free $500 in your HSA that you can use on anything vaguely medical, so I’ll consider that a win.

 

[Fyi]

Remember that the user base here is going to be skewed; there are a lot more seasoned TMs here than there are cashiers who are only available sundays and tuesdays, or that one TM who closes only fridays, etc etc lol

That’s a good point

 

[Times Up]

Just reading an article on FIRE retirement and it had an interesting point that the health care costs of a person over 50 are 5 times more than a younger person. So if alot of Target's employees are long term, and many of those possibly over 50, it would make sense that Target wants to bar them from the employer sponsored health plan. Not that it's right, or that it's the socially responsible thing to do, but fiscally responsible for the Target God's.....the Shareholders!

 

[BoxCutter]

I think that Target will soon be switching their healthcare insurance structure and provider. Currently, Target is self-insured with UHC (and possibly another for certain parts of the country) administering the plan. All insurance is based on high numbers to minimize the risk. So, for health insurance, you want a lot more younger people (who theoretically use less medical services) in the plan to help cover the older people (who would use more). With lowering the number of hours and eliminating large numbers of people who qualify for insurance, you are also shrinking your pool making it more expensive to cover that pool. Because of this, I see Target switching to a more traditional plan where the health insurance provider pays for and administers the plan. My bet is on Aetna since it is now owned by CVS.

 

[GreasyGary]

I’m also a smoker. I have the insurance though, and pay the tobacco user fee. I read in the handbook (I think) that lying about tobacco user status is similar to defaulting on your REDcard; punishable by termination.

Yup, they also remind you that it can be punishable by termination when you make the determination online or on the phone. (I had to do mine on the phone because I missed the deadline to do it online). Since it more than doubled the cost of the insurance and like you, I'm in relatively decent health and probably wouldn't use it except for emergencies, I just went with the much cheaper coverages to cover that kind of thing.

I'm just surprised at some of the people are risking both their job and their family's insurance by lying about that. A couple of TLs and one ETL has told me they just said they weren't smokers. Which is also crazy because while I'm a trustworthy person and wouldnt rat them out, that's the sort of thing that I wouldn't tell a soul about.

Also, the ACA penalty was eliminated for the 2019 tax year, so that's not a concern. It definitely would have been, but luckily I wasn't eligible last year so it didn't affect my taxes. (It almost did, Target reported that i was eligible for 1 month of the year for some reason, even though there was no way for me to enroll. Was a bit of an issue getting that sorted). The HSA thing was a serious consideration, though. I almost did the FSA since you can get the $500 in that without the insurance, but it doesn't roll over like the HSA does, so has to be spent by the end of the year and I figured I likely wouldn't use it.

The person on the phone did tell me that you can have the smoker fee removed until the next plan year if you participate in the Quit Smoking plan. I forget the name. Even if you don't successfully quit it comes off until next year's registration. So that may be worth looking in to. Hell, may even actually help ya quit.

 

[SoCalMama]

So it seems roughly 65% have health insurance, what are people planning or have already done if they lost insurance or will lose it?

I am fairly certain that less than 10% of my old store qualifies to get health insurance.

 

[skrepo1977]

For any of you guys who are planning on leaving Target or get terminated and still need insurance you can still go through Cobra. Before for a United Healthcare PPO (in California) one would have to pay a little less than $50 every two weeks so basically $100 a month. Now under Cobra you need to pay the entire premium so it somewhere around $434 a month. By eliminating insurance for team members, Target is saving quite a bit of change every month

 

[graffiti]

So it seems roughly 65% have health insurance, what are people planning or have already done if they lost insurance or will lose it?

My FT job offers it, but Target's is cheaper so once they drop me or I quit I'll just switch over.