Trade unions are an essential part of the fabric of our region. From carpenters, roofers, and railroad workers to firefighters and police officers, union members perform vital functions we all depend on.

Union labor can be very demanding and can take a heavy toll on workers’ bodies. These folks deserve excellent health care after they retire.

As a Senior Account Executive on the Medicare Group Sales Team at Independence Blue Cross (IBX), it’s my privilege to help unions offer affordable, high-quality Medicare Advantage health plans to their retirees. Here’s why our plans are so well suited to this need.

A Relationship Based on Trust

Enrolling in a Medicare plan can be a little stressful for some people. They may not know much about how Medicare works, and they may not even start thinking about it until they become eligible. And then they could get overwhelmed because there are so many different plans to consider. How are they supposed to know which choice will best cover their health care needs while minimizing their out-of-pocket costs?

I give educational presentations to help union members understand how Medicare works and what plan types are available. I talk to them like I’d talk to my own family, breaking these concepts down into plain, everyday language.

I also reassure them that IBX has been serving people in the Philadelphia five-county region for 85 years. Our members are literally our neighbors. And we take care of them accordingly.

By the time these union members are ready to retire, they already know me and have a comfort level with me. I’ve gotten to know them and their health needs. And they know it’s easy to enroll, and easy to get in touch with me if they have any questions or concerns.

Seamless Transition from Employee to Retiree

For unions that already provide their members with IBX group commercial health plans, it’s much easier for their retirees to transition to an IBX Medicare plan than to switch to another insurer’s health plan. The retirees are already accustomed to working with our provider network and navigating our systems and processes. We help make that transition easy through a strong collaboration between the account managers of our employee and retiree groups.

The Advantage of Medicare Advantage Plans

For a long time, Medicare Supplement (or “Medigap”) plans were the norm among unions’ retiree health plans. That’s what a lot of unions are used to, and that’s what many of them want to keep offering their retirees.

Medigap plans are good. However, Medicare Advantage plans include a lot of extras to help retirees take better care of their health.

For example, all IBX Medicare Advantage plans include dental, vision, and hearing benefits, a free gym membership, and a quarterly allowance to spend on eligible over-the-counter health products. When you think about what these benefits would cost if you had to pay for them separately, the value becomes clear. And IBX Medicare Advantage plans for groups such as unions are custom-designed to meet their members’ needs.

Our HMO Medicare Advantage plans can offer the lowest costs by requiring members to only see in-network doctors and specialists. Our PPO Medicare Advantage plans give members the freedom to get health care out of network, though they can still save money by using in-network providers.

Why I Love Working with Unions

I grew up in Mount Airy, and I still live there today. I love being of service to my community by answering my neighbors’ Medicare questions. This spring, for instance, I was at my son’s youth-league flag football game, and one of his coaches came up to me and said “Hey, Ty, I’m getting ready to retire…what should I do?”

There have always been a lot of union members in my neighborhood. Firefighters, police officers, supermarket workers…they live all around me.

I love the way my work connects me to the union workers in my community. Recently, my wife’s niece got married and I was invited to a dinner to meet her new husband’s family. Most of the cars parked outside had Local 22 license plates! (That’s the Philadelphia Firefighters and Paramedics Union.)

And, lo and behold, when I got inside, I discovered that the husband’s father is a spokesperson for Local 22! I proudly told him, “I work for IBX, and our Medicare Advantage plans take care of your retirees.”

Our labor unions do so much for our communities. I love being able to give something back by helping their members take care of themselves when they retire.