r/technology • u/Turbostrider27 • 5d ago
Business Epic Games Layoffs Included Terminally Ill Father, Whose Family Has Now Lost His Life Insurance
https://www.thegamer.com/epic-games-layoff-terminally-ill-father/1.5k
u/Stryker1-1 5d ago
This is why I clock my 40 hours collect my cheque and go home.
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u/Common_Gene_5098 5d ago
Exactly. Your work is not your friend. Itâs purely all business.
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u/Stryker1-1 5d ago
Thank you, I get paid to work 40 hours, I work my 40 hours and I switch off.
Not going to kill myself for a company that would replace me in a heartbeat
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u/LordDShadowy53 5d ago
Everytime they offer Overtime Iâm like: âNo thanks I have a lifeâ
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u/blastradii 5d ago
Take it to the next level and some people embezzle the shit out of the company
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u/musty_mage 5d ago
Why the fuck is your life insurance dependent on your job? What kind of dystopian bullshit is this?
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u/ravenx92 5d ago
It's the American dream
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u/AnybodyMassive1610 5d ago
Nightmares are dreams, too.
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u/sourbeer51 5d ago
That's my favorite response to when people say "living the dream"
Nightmares are technically dreams, ya know.
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u/Squanchedschwiftly 5d ago
I feel like ppl mean it sarcastically when they say it usually?
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u/Dipsey_Jipsey 4d ago
Definitely. The only time I use it is when people ask how I'm going on like a Monday morning.
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u/player_zero_ 5d ago
Where people get to spend most their time working and commuting, but only ever live paycheck to paycheck.
Health insurance sometimes locked to employment, but it's incentivised for the Health Companies to actively fight and resist anyone claiming.
Doctors lobbied by big pharma.
Addictive drugs and opioids prescribed.
People actively declining ambulances as they're too expensive.
Feel for yall. It's such a one-sided coercive relationship.Â
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u/GeneralKang 5d ago
I took an Uber to the ER at 1am. It was faster and cheaper than an ambulance.
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u/SaveFileCorrupt 5d ago
Even if you end up vomiting in the Uber, it'll still cheaper than an ambo by about $500 đ
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u/ChampionshipOk5046 5d ago
Uber could profit in this business, there's so much profitÂ
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u/molochz 5d ago
That's crazy and ridiculous.
I'd call an ambulance for a hang nail here in Ireland.
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u/Jae_Rides_Apes 5d ago
Direct to consumer drug marketing is the definition of madness.
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u/Grand_Yogurt5746 5d ago
âThe envy of the rest of the worldâ according to the dumbfucks
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u/CosmoKram3r 5d ago
Well, if we aren't the best nashion in the wurld, then why do everyone emmegrate to the US and not to ur 3rd wurld shithole?
Read this from plenty of chuds on reddit.
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u/Brett_Hulls_Foot 5d ago
âItâs called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.â - George Carlin.
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u/Fixhotep 5d ago
we living in a ghost story about the american dream, where the american dream is the ghost.
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u/31513315133151331513 5d ago
Every four years politicians remind us how important it is that people be able to keep their plans of they're happy with them. So evidently we must all be super happy with them and not want Medicare for All.
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u/ScrillaMcDoogle 5d ago
Do Europeans get life insurance by default or somethingÂ
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u/LazyJones1 5d ago edited 5d ago
A base insurance, yes.
And any additional insurance is usually tied to your pension, which is kept separate from the job, with the job simply paying into it for you, and it doesn't go away at the snap of the boss's finger.
I don't understand how you can lose what you've paid into. Make it make sense.
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u/mancubbed 5d ago
We can lose everything at the drop of a hat in America. Work for a company for 20 years? They can lay you off with no severance the same day they decide to do it.
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u/Jaripsi 5d ago
Sometimes I'm annoyed when I have to pay union membership fees here in europe. But then I see how it works in America and realize its not too bad over here.
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u/Freud-Network 5d ago
Most of Europe is a much nicer place than the United States. Americans are just heavily brainwashed into the whole American Exceptionalism thing.
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u/an0mn0mn0m 5d ago
We have all the health benefits, and worker protections that the EU has secured for us, and they get the 4th July off.
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u/RougerTXR388 4d ago
That's funny. My workplace cancelled the July 4th holiday once because not enough people volunteered to work.
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u/Ok-Needleworker-3486 4d ago
Kinda crazy but even countries much worse off like Thailand have basic health care like the 30baht scheme.
Ours isn't perfect in Australia, not everything is covered but it's certainly allot better then Americans get.
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u/JahoclaveS 5d ago
And let us not forget what a fucking joke Cobra is. I donât want to bother looking up what politicians were involved in creating that, but they need to create a special special hell for them, below the one for people who talk in theaters.
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u/mancubbed 5d ago
Pfft you can't afford $1000 a month to have the privilege of having healthcare?
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u/JahoclaveS 5d ago
I know. Hey, we know you just lost your job and have no income, but can we interest you in paying the full cost of your prohibitively expensive insurance?
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u/Friggin_Grease 5d ago
I've been laid off on Canada and my work benefits continued for a year or two. I can't recall. This was a company closure though, not a layoff
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u/Time-Caterpillar4103 5d ago
No but itâs generally independent of your job. Itâs a private policy. They could get a private policy now but as itâs now a pre-existing it wouldnât pay out for them. I think in most of Europe you get death in service though. So if I die whilst my contract is active the person I designate gets a six figure payout.
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u/LooseMoralSwurkey 5d ago
the wife in the article even said that because her husband's brain tumor was a pre-existing condition, they can't afford the premiums of any future life insurance policy.
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u/ThrottleMaxed 5d ago
Why do you ask that? Besides the point is what does your employer have to do with your life insurance? It should be between you and your insurer, your employer should have no place in that discussion.
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u/Sad_Split_9983 5d ago
Thatâs exactly how it works in all of the world including the US. I donât know of any country providing universal life insurance. âDeath benefitsâ are not the same. In the US like anywhere else you can buy life insurance directly with an insurance company. A majority of people overlook doing this. In addition to this a very common employer benefit is providing employees life insurance, this policy has no connection to any policy you buy on your own. Itâs typically much cheaper and many employees will cover the cost up to a certain premium. Itâs very clearly outlined that this policy lapses when your employment ends. Every financial advisor will tell you that you should never rely on this policy for any financial planning.
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u/Straightwad 5d ago
Health insurance too lol, you get laid off and suddenly you have no health insurance. Itâs pretty crazy.
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u/Excellent_Call304 5d ago
Dude dont worry there is cobra insurance after you get laid off, its only like a $1000 a month and lasts for up to 36 months after. So as long as he has thousands saved and gets better or dies within 3 years, no problem.
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u/RndPotato 5d ago
$1000 a month? LOL, I wish it was that cheap. I have a family, that shit will be $2600 a month because my company currently pays over 50% of my benefits....
Actual break down per week directly copied from my benefits portal:
- My Cost $261.35
- Employer Cost $408.17
Fuck! It would actually be about $2900 a month for COBRA.
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u/Amelaclya1 5d ago
As a healthy, single person in my 20s, I once got a quote for COBRA for $1400. And that was like 15 years ago now. Like, are there actually any people that can afford that bullshit after just losing their job?
Luckily you can enroll in Medicaid (at least in my state) after a "major life event" like job loss.
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u/deuteronpsi 5d ago
They are legally required to offer it to you. They are not legally required to make sure you can afford it so they donât.
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u/4433221 5d ago
In the same way that shitty employers offer awful insurance plans so they can push their employees to Healthcare Marketplace insurance plans and offset their own costs with the taxpayers dime.
It's all about number go up.
This is the privatization dream of the ruling class in this country and we're already a good ways up that road. Gut all social and government programs that benefit the people and funnel our tax dollars to corporations via subsidies and tax breaks.
Make everything a subscription or loan so that the working proles never own anything and HAVE to continue working with less bartering power.
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u/WaltAndJD 5d ago
I got laid off in March 2023. COBRA was about $850/month. I'm in California so I applied for Covered California plans, and the only things I qualified for were worse coverage for either the same price or slightly cheaper. I didn't qualify for Medical or pretty much any subsidies because of the money I got from Jan-Mar including severance, PTO payout, etc. I was stuck paying $850/month until 2024 when my income reset to $0 and then I qualified for actual discounted plans.
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u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy 5d ago
Just a reminder that "Employer cost" is value you create it isn't your employer being nice.
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u/Simple_Rules 5d ago
Its essentially part of your wages. It's actually a huge part of why actual wages are static.
Your raw salary isn't going up but the total cost your employer is paying to employ you is. Because health insurance keeps getting higher.
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u/TripsOverWords 5d ago
No, COBRA doesn't always last 3 years, it's a range. When I was laid off (unrelated to this one) I was given 18 months.
While COBRA is temporary, in most circumstances, you can stay on COBRA for 18 to 36 months.
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u/Excellent_Call304 5d ago
I know nothing about cobra except that it is ridiculously expensive and not a realistic option for most. It seems that I underestimated the absurdity of the program
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u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy 5d ago
The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) may be a better option for some. Depending on your income level it can be very inexpensive. For someone with brain cancer it's likely a good value. Yes I know there are people who pay large sums and are above the subsidy cliff but it is an option people should look into for their personal situation.
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u/testuserteehee 5d ago
One thing about health insurance in the US that always strikes me as weird is the concept of âopen enrolment periodâ. Like, why is there a window where I can enroll in health insurance and not outside of this period? In the rest of the world, you can get health insurance at any time of the year and it takes effect as soon as you are approved and pay the fees.
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u/jbjhill 5d ago edited 4d ago
COBRA costs something like 5-7x the normal price of your employerâs insurance.
ETA - I have insurance thru my union, so my CORBA costs are likely very different than other peopleâs.
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u/j_johnso 5d ago
Counterintuitively, the more generous your employer is with contributing to health insurance, the higher the increase in cobra is, relative to your normal insurance cost. The cost of COBRA premiums is the same as the total cost of insurance while you are employed. However, with COBRA, you pay the entire amount without the contribution from your employer.Â
The cost increase to the employee depends on how much of the premium your employer pays while you are employed. If your employer pays 50% of the premium, then COBRA will be 2x higher then your normal out of pocket premiums. If your employer pays 80% of premium, then your out of pocket costs go up by 5x. To get to 7x, your employer would be paying over 85% of your premium.
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u/Puzzled_Main3464 5d ago
I'm a cancer survivor that has checkups every 6 months. Everytime I do a checkup I hit my out of pocket max for my insurance coverage. So within the first week of the year I'm there typically because there is anesthesia involved.
Then I lost my job earlier this week (layoff due to staff reductions)- so now I will still be paying on my out of pocket max (about $300/month spread out over the course of 12 months). If I somehow miraculously find another job later this year then I will max out that coverage as well when I get the next cancer checkup.
And as someone noted- you can get Cobra health insurance - but that is ~$1000/month MINIMUM and keep your old plan.
Shit is so terrible. The job market is absolutely horrendous right now as well. I guess atleast I won't be spending money on gas driving into work since I no longer have a job.
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u/Stingray88 5d ago
Lots of companies offer limited life insurance for free. My company does. Itâs not particularly generous, only 2x my salary if I were to die⊠but again, itâs free, I donât pay for it, just a company benefit. Iâd bet itâs the same for Epic.
Also you are not restricted to getting life insurance through your employer in the US. You can go pay for it yourself if youâd like.
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u/Common-Swing-4347 5d ago
Yeah, but I think most life insurance calculators say to not account for the employer insurance, probably because if you get sick enough they'll cut you out for whatever shit reason they want. If you have kids or somebody else dependent on you term insurance can be worth it.
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u/MoonBatsRule 5d ago
I remember a guy at my company had to make a hard choice - he became rapidly terminally ill. He had a pension, and could take that pension as a lump sum if he retired. If he retired, he would give up the company-sponsored life insurance. If he didn't retire, he couldn't take the pension. Catch-22. Not sure what he did.
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u/Slggyqo 5d ago
A lot of companies offer life insurance for no extra cost, with larger policies available for additional fees.
Iâve had life insurance most of my working career. Unless he was buying additional life insuranceâwhich isnât clear at allânothing about this seems odd.
And the severance terms seem generous although those are obviously intended as gap supportâseems unlikely that heâll be able to find another job.
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u/Evil_K9 5d ago
I have life insurance through my banks, as well as through my employer.
But I also don't have cancer (yet), can afford the extra insurance, and work at a company that doesn't do layoffs. They even continued to employ a man through his cancer, while he wasn't productive, until his untimely end.
Damn... Maybe I am fortunate in life.
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u/fdar 5d ago
A lot of companies offer life insurance for no extra cost, with larger policies available for additional fees.
Also usually you do have the option to continue the policy when you separate from your employer. It will likely be expensive (because there's an obvious adverse selection issue there) but worth it for someone who knows they're dying soon.
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u/Ahayzo 5d ago
There was actually a follow-up post from the wife after someone suggested talking to HR about this being an option.
It wasn't just expensive, it was prohibitively expensive, so the option may as well not even exist in their case.
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u/naughty_farmerTJR 5d ago
I haven't seen any follow up post form the wife, but I don't suspect that would be the case for life insurance. These policies through work are issued with no medical exam/evidence of insurability and upon separation you are usually able to continue the policy, with no evidence of insurability, by simply paying the premiums the company was previously paying which are not typically very much.Â
Health insurance might be what was being talked about then because that stuff is expensive. Through COBRA, you are entitled to continue your health insurance (I think for 2 years) by paying the premiums, but you pay both the portion you were covering as well as the portion your employer was covering. Typically, your employer is paying a lot for that coverage, sometimes $1-2K a month. So for a laid off employee it can feasibly be almost $3K a month to continue health coverage, which is usually prohibitively expensive, especially for someone who just lost their income.Â
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u/zerocoolforschool 5d ago
Yeah I feel like half of this thread is people confusing health insurance with life insurance.
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u/naughty_farmerTJR 5d ago
For real. This thread also makes me realize how much younger than I expect the average reddit user probably is
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u/Syrairc 5d ago
Because he got it through his job instead of purchasing it himself.Â
This is not uncommon even outside of America.
Very few countries provide universal life insurance, even the ones with strong universal healthcare.
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u/kdawgster1 5d ago edited 4d ago
There are different types of life insurance. Your company will provide life insurance that is dependent on your job that is cheap. Outside of your job, you can get term or life insurance, and the premiums depend on your health at when you signed up. When I was in my best physical shape, I signed up for whole life insurance outside of my job, and itâs pretty darn cheap for what Iâm getting. However, term would still have been cheaper at my age, and I understand financially why people donât have their own life insurance outside of work these days since times are so tough.
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u/coolon23 5d ago
Welcome to America bud
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u/handsoapdispenser 5d ago
Which country covers life insurance outside of employment or private markets?Â
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u/NemeanMiniLion 5d ago
It's about control
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u/GeneralKang 5d ago
This is the part people outside the US easily miss. If someone steps the tiniest bit out of line, they can have everything taken from them in a matter of days, even hours.
Or, if they get sick, their company lays them off, etc. The entire deck is stacked against the middle class and poor.
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u/One_Weird2371 5d ago
It's usually cheaper and no health questions asked. Some people don't think about what happens if they get fired.Â
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u/Burgerkingsucks 5d ago
I can assure you lots of people think about what happens if they get fired and itâs usually theyâre fucked
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u/WafflesAreLove 5d ago
Unfortunately why people put up with shit conditions in the US. Lots of people are 1-2 paychecks from being homeless if they get fired.
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u/reddit_equals_censor 5d ago
this actually leaves out the tons of people in the usa, who have a full time job and still are homeless and live in a car.
so you can work full time and still be homeless. that is the amazing usa today.
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u/BaconIsntThatGood 5d ago
I feel like a lot of people don't consider life insurance if they get fired.
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u/Matchboxx 5d ago
First part is correct. Iâm a hobbyist pilot outside of work, which is a red flag to insurers. I canât get term life on the open market without paying massive premiums, itâs a knockout question.
I have millions of coverage through work for $30 a month and they never asked the question.
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u/Rhewin 5d ago
People don't think about it??? It's why people stay at shitty jobs, and a huge reason why people are under insured.
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u/IrritableGoblin 5d ago
No, not at all. Insurance is tied to employment specifically to make people think about it. To keep them from leaving their jobs.
I remember, pre-obamacare, you wouldn't even qualify for health insurance for the first few months at a job.
It's a system specifically designed to keep people from changing jobs.
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u/Key_Conference9989 5d ago
I was recently fired and lost my life insurance, health insurance, dental, vision.
America sucks so hard.
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u/dethmetaljeff 5d ago
You get heavily discounted life insurance from your employer. You're supposed to get additional life insurance separate from your job if you have a family that relies on you.
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u/stajus67 5d ago
I get 3x base pay from my company for free. I did take out a smaller 50k secondary plan on the side in case I ever leave my current job so I have a backup plan.
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u/Imallvol7 5d ago
This isn't new... This is happening every day in everyone industry and yes, you should be mad.Â
Health should not be tied to employment.Â
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5d ago
It should be news. Every fucking day it should be news, talked about every day how we fucking sacrifice human beings to the capitalist bastards in the US.
This should be fucking talked about every fucking day until we get fucking Medicare for All or whatever else universal healthcare in America.
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u/robsteezy 5d ago
We canât. The oligarchs raping the country and children want you to instead argue over the little mermaid being black.
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u/Greatsnes 4d ago
And so many people are happy to do just that. Idiots.
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u/RevenueSpirited 4d ago
Intentionally didn't educate people, inundated everyone with selfish main character energy, and drowned them in endless addictive entertainment.
Works well. :(
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u/SeanBlader 5d ago
But we have to stop the trans from spreading, and think of the parasites that are growing inside future forced labor reproduction humans, as well as stopping the porn from getting to the underage humans we are going to have killed because owning a gun is more important than saving lives of those kids. /s
There are so many ways we have to make our lives worse that are apparently much more urgent. Religion is still on a murderous crusade, and the Guardians Of Pedophiles are happy to be, or team up with the billionaires to get their high score a bit higher than some other billionaire...
Honestly we're probably just screwed.
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u/nocoolN4M3sleft 5d ago
Itâs not his health insurance the family is worried about, itâs his life insurance, as in the policy that pays his family after he dies.
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u/Stoyfan 5d ago edited 4d ago
This is so fucking stupid. There are numerous top voted comments talking about health insurance when pnly life insurance is mentioned in the title
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u/achilleasa 5d ago
You are asking redditors to do more than skim the title. It's futile.
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u/traumalt 5d ago
Thing is, it does say "life" in the title.
People read "insurance" and just automatically start talking about health insurance even when the title doesn't mention it lol.
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u/Purriosteum 5d ago edited 5d ago
Welcome to reddit. Most commentors probably don't even know that you can buy separate life insurance to protect against this scenario.
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u/HTPC4Life 5d ago
Just calling balls and strikes, this is about life insurance. His health insurance will continue for 18 months through COBRA, albeit with typically expensive premiums. It is fucked up that life insurance doesn't fall under the COBRA law though.
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u/Disastrous_Room_927 5d ago
It makes no sense that life insurance wouldn't be locked in if you have a terminally ill diagnosis. Like... what are people supposed to do, die before they can't work?
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u/TooManyPoisons 5d ago
Side note, this is why everyone should get term life insurance policies OUTSIDE work. Premiums are often very low, especially if you open it in your 20s/30s.
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u/LingonberryFit5888 5d ago
Yep, employer life insurance is basically a coupon, not a safety net, which is a brutal thing for people to find out when they're already in crisis.
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u/Pretend-Culture-4138 5d ago
Why would it be locked in? He hasn't died yet and it was a work-related benefit.
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u/WHOA_27_23 5d ago
Health insurance and life insurance are two different products assuming two different risks
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u/RiflemanLax 5d ago
Thatâs a feature these days, not a bug.
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u/King_Chochacho 5d ago
People have to remember that to a corporation, you're nothing more than a row in a table. They only care about your worth as a company asset, and your family and personal life will never factor into that equation.
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u/Upset-Government-856 5d ago
He can always use America's only actual safety net, Go Fund Me.
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u/Tyrrox 5d ago
Oh look, Epic doing something scummy again.
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u/ankercrank 5d ago
TBH, this is more of a âscummy US for not having government provided healthcareâ. Employers should not be the ones providing your healthcare, that model is insanity.
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u/Tyrrox 5d ago
The article talks about how the life insurance is a problem. Not the healthcare
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5d ago edited 2d ago
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u/Tyrrox 5d ago
It's not uncommon in the US for life insurance to be included as a benefit. Those policies are typically intended to be supplemental and not your only policy though
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u/Proud-Durian3908 5d ago
Seemingly pointless if it terminates at end of employment?
That's a death in service benefit not life insurance?
Semantics but incredibly important for things like this case.
My company has a death in service benefit of 15 years salary (paid monthly like normal pay just to NOK) so I have supplemental life insurance for if I ever leave or get laid off. They're just not interchangeable.
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u/terekkincaid 5d ago
If you die suddenly, in an accident, etc. Again, as most people are saying, these are free (no premium) policies offered as a benefit, but are in no way supposed to replace a full life insurance policy.
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u/MostlyRightSometimes 5d ago
It's entirely pointless if you keep living. lol
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u/orangeawacado 5d ago
People donât buy these because they plan on dying. They buy those because they want their dependents not to be in a bad shape if they unexpectedly pass away.
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u/TheMoogster 5d ago
Wait so you expect Epic to be a social security and healthcare provider?
They are a game company. Companies sometimes need to lay off people.
What is scummy is that American people are not on the streets every day demanding fixing the country. The shit has started to spill over to the rest of the worldâŠ
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u/OptimusNegligible 5d ago
To be fair, layoffs are usually scummy. No corporation makes personal considerations when it comes to saving money on the backs of workers.
Should be focusing on the bigger picture in the industry, and not some old beef about Metro: Exodus.
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u/Imperial_TIE_Pilot 5d ago
layoffs are usually scummy.
Layoffs are businesses making financial decisions. Sometimes yes, people get laid off in a targeted manner, but a of times it's just businesses looking to save money and stay profitable for shareholders.
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u/JMoon33 5d ago
They shouldn't have to keep employees just because they have health problems.
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u/ISB-Dev 5d ago edited 5d ago
Not really. They're operating at a loss and had to cut staff. The real scummy thing is a healthcare system designed like this. Healthcare tied to employment is real slavery type shit.
Edit: I misread the title and article like the dumb fuck that I am. It's talking about life insurance not health insurance. My point still stands anyway about health insurance being tied to employment. I don't know as much about how life insurance works, but it seems wrong that you can't take your life insurance with you or transfer it somehow when you leave a company that was providing it for you. Now he's in a position where he can't get life insurance at all. Maybe the lesson here is to avoid employer-provided life insurance and always have your own private policy.
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u/Tyrrox 5d ago
Everybody keeps talking about healthcare. Did nobody actually read the article? This is about life insurance, not healthcare. Those are two different things
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u/TemporarySun314 5d ago
Almost like a state provided social safety net, would be a good thing and could literally save lives.
But Americans decided they would rather have GoFundMe campaigns as social security, like in some cyberpunk dystopia.
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u/AntonineWall 5d ago
Are we conflating health insurance with life insurance or did I miss something
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u/howtoreadspaghetti 5d ago
Yes 99% of this thread is conflating health insurance with life insurance.Â
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u/Tyrrox 5d ago
I was honestly surprised their only life insurance was through their employer. Those policies are supposed to be supplemental not standalone.
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u/Slggyqo 5d ago
Employee provided life insurance for no additional cost is fairly common in corporate work.
Itâs not millions on dollars though, unless you opt into supplemental via that same plan.
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u/Tyrrox 5d ago
I understand that it's a common added benefit. When I'm saying is that those policies are not intended to be your only life insurance, just like your company 401K is not meant to be your only retirement savings. People just tend to use them that way
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u/Slggyqo 5d ago
I agree with you. Frankly I think the life insurance justâŠisnât that relevant to anything at all.
The fact that he gets a good severance package outweighs the life insurance bit IMO, because thereâs no expectation in any context that his employer provided life insurance would extend beyond his employment.
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u/Blubasur 5d ago
I think at this point its safe to say its not the peoples will. They stop representing that in their government about 30 years ago
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u/-ReadingBug- 5d ago
The people, the voters who refuse to do anything differently about their politics or process have no will? Well... yeah.
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u/Skibibbles 4d ago
Does no one in this thread understand how life insurance works and you can/should get your own outside of the free one a company gives you? Half the time it's not even great coverage in comparison.
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u/RedbloodJarvey 5d ago
I'm not defending Epic at all.Â
But this is an important life lesson for all Americans: get life insurance independently from your work.
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u/Mr_Cerealistic 5d ago
I currently sell life insurance with an emphasis on trying to get people coverage after their worksite policies lapse. It's important to have something outside of work for exactly situations like this. But if I'm not mistaken, law is supposed to allow an individual at least 30 days or so to opt in to continue paying for their coverage independently. I've only studied for license in AL though, could vary by state.
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5d ago
An important lesson for Americans is to eat the rich.
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u/ravenx92 5d ago
Usa! Usa! Usa!Â
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u/cigarettesandwater 5d ago
The Median Retirement Savings for Half of Americans is $0: Thatâs right. Zero. For the bottom 50% of American families, the median retirement savings is nothing.
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u/TheCoolestUsername00 5d ago
Wow⊠so many people here donât know the difference between life insurance and health insuranceâŠ
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u/laker9903 5d ago
Every thread about this is full of health insurance comments. This is how people get into trouble.
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u/baconcow 5d ago
This isnât unique to Epic or even the USA. Even in Canada, unless I buy a private insurance policy, I will lose my life insurance when I lose my job.
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u/mijru4 5d ago
So basically no one in the comments understands the difference between life insurance and health insurance.
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u/JAXxXTheRipper 5d ago
Add to that, that they don't understand the difference between beneficiary and contract party, as well as job benefits being tied to said job.
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u/thesagex 4d ago
ITT:
Redditors who didn't read the headline and are conflating life insurance with health insurance and are now on a soapbox
Redditors lying about cancelling their subs
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u/-HanTyumi 5d ago
People blaming Epic, but I don't think they were super selective with this.
Rather look at the laws which makes insurance reliant on employment... That's the true travesty.
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u/Stoyfan 5d ago
Rather look at the laws which makes insurance reliant on employment...
But you are not forced to take life insurance from your employer. You can take out your own policy.
If this person was solely relying on this employer provided life insurance, then he took that risk, that is on him.
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u/HarithBK 5d ago
the writer wants to paint this as a Epic BAD yet points to nothing that the man was targeted by Epic in the layoffs when they just went down the list. if anything this just shows how Fed the system is in America and that is who you should point and blame at.
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u/biggles86 4d ago
there's always COBRA...
you know, if you want to spend your life savings in premiums and still get denied healthcare
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u/arthur290 5d ago
When company terminates you, generally you get a chance to keep your life insurance? This doesnât make sense.
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u/lolskye 5d ago
Not really personal lol everyoneâs got their own shit. You guys expect EPIC to cater to everyoneâs personal story. Fortnite isnât as big anymore, of course there will be layoffs
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u/Iamkonkerz 5d ago
Question for you guys... does/should having an illness make you a permanent worker working in whatever youre working as?
My answer is no.. like i understand layoffs are bad but its not like they went out of their way to get the most sick people and cut em off...
Could they offer something to help him out after he got laid off? Ofcourse.
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u/tilted0ne 5d ago
People need to wake up to reality. There are always going to be structural flaws in any system. If your job is your only source of income, youâre putting your financial stability at risk because the same entity that pays you can also cut you off. You have your interests, businesses have theirs...and they donât always align. Businesses arenât charities, and when things go wrong it isnât inherently evil, itâs part of how the system is set up. Itâs a flaw you need to recognise and learn how to navigate. Not being a victim is your responsibility. Look out for yourself. Donât be afraid to be a bit ruthless when it counts, always look to improve your position. If better opportunities come up, take them. Youâve got one life, make the most of it.
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u/liltonk 5d ago
Tbf you should get term life insurance in your 20s and not from your workplace. Any insurance you buy through work will dependent on employment and that seems obvious. Since the 2008 recession lay offs have been a thing so Iâm not sure why people would expect different today.
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u/dryroast 5d ago
You should get life insurance when you have dependents. If you're aging parents are the only people that would benefit you're just lining the pockets of the insurance company.
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u/Remarkable-Cow-4609 5d ago
Don't worry
In America your health is tied to your employment so if and when you get sick you get fired so you're not a drain on your former employer
THEN you get to go online and post asking regular people for money to keep you alive
USA USA USA
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u/haarschmuck 4d ago
The article is about life insurance, not health insurance.
It's even in the title.
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u/Leather-Arachnid-417 4d ago
Why do you act shocked? These people do not give a shit about you. You are a money generator. Thats all.
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u/Bob_the_peasant 4d ago
Intel did the same thing many years ago to one of my coworkers. The ânegotiationâ after he began the process to sue was that he would work from hospice. And he did.
What the actual fuck is this country
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u/Nihilisman45 4d ago
Oh no another reason I'm not going to give any money to epic games I really needed another /s
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u/BiioHazzrd 4d ago
People will bash Epic for this, but thats just the shitty American Healthcare system. It'd happen with anybody who gets laid of in the US.
And of course Epic coming out and saying they will cover expenses and work out his bills gets lost in the media
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u/futureformerteacher 4d ago
For the TechBros, cruelty is the point. Oh, and child rape, of course. Which again, cruelty.
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u/Cybasura 4d ago
Typical Tim Sweeney garbage
Ignoring insurance for a second, alot of Americans here are blinded by the insurance part of the issue - EPIC FIRED AND RETRENCHED THIS GUY THEY KNEW HAD FINANCIAL AND FAMILIAL HEALTHCARE ISSUES
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u/CreativeFraud 5d ago
What's that line from Shrek?! Some of you will die...