[Welcome Industry Radar readers! Please feel free to look around, as well]
This is just too good not to mention:
One of my groups recently switched from a moderate-deductible co-pay plan to a High Deductible Health Savings Account plan (HSA). For many years, they've had a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), which the employer seeded with $250 per employee. That was essentially a $250 gift certificate for health care.
When we switched to the HSA, the employer kept the FSA (as well as the $250) in place, and also "seeded" the HSA with another $260 per year. That's over $500 of "free" health care, courtesy of a very generous employer.
Of course, this just isn't good enough for some folks.
Turns out that one of the employees is unhappy with the new plan. He's been co-habitating with a woman for some 15 years, and has fathered several (perhaps all) of her children. He has also had them on his group plan, because the employer also helps out with the dependent premiums. When we installed the new plan, he was quite unhappy ("I'm not spending an extra $3,000 on these kids"), so he did the logical thing:
He married the gal.
That way, you see, he could put himself and the kids on her plan (why he couldn't just add the kids to hers is a mystery), and teach that mean ol' employer a lesson.
'Course, it cost him the $500+ in FSA and HSA contributions, not to mention the premium subsidy, but he certainly made his point.
And it only cost him $40 (cash only!) for the license.
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