Question about chain pharmacy Health Benefits

[kvl1027]

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Ok, so I am a new graduate currently employed by a small independent pharmacy and well frankly my pay rate as a grad intern and benefits package are not what I expected. Ultimately I would like to someday have my own pharmacy and that will always be a goal of mine, but I am thinking about jumping the shark for now for some slightly greener pastures. My current employer is going to be paying for %100 of my health insurance, but nothing of my wife and kids insurance, which is probably going to be somewhere around $600/month, which frankly I can't afford.

Now on to my main question. I was wondering if I could get some input with regards to what kind of health benefits some of the bigger chains (CVS, Walgreens, Wal-mart, etc) are offering, mainly how much is deducted from your checks for health insurance? I am mainly looking for those who have families covered. I am just trying to get an idea of whether or not I should just stay with what I have or work in a big-box store until I can get my feet on the ground.

Just to make things a little more specific, I am getting $25/hr as a grad intern and $50/hr when licensed.

Thanks to anyone that can shed some light.

 

[kvl1027]

No insight at all?

 

[pharmalt82]

$600 a month to insure your wife and kids...
I am guessing you really like this job at the independent store.
So, while this is going to sound like something you don't want to hear...I have to say that you have to cut back somewhere else: TV Bills, eating out, etc.
Either that or you jump to the bigger chain stores. I will say that most of my friends in my region have received a fully paid health package. EXCEPT: While the health insurance is pretty comprehensive and is great for covering emergencies, the copays are rather high.
To find out what type of insurance plan you would have, you might want to try this strategy: call a chain pharmacy on a weekend early morning and tell the pharmacist that you are considering joining their chain and you would like to know what benefits are offered. They'll say something to help. If they don't tell you yourself (very likely), they will refer you to someone (maybe in HR).

 

[kvl1027]

$600 a month to insure your wife and kids...
I am guessing you really like this job at the independent store.
So, while this is going to sound like something you don't want to hear...I have to say that you have to cut back somewhere else: TV Bills, eating out, etc.
Either that or you jump to the bigger chain stores. I will say that most of my friends in my region have received a fully paid health package. EXCEPT: While the health insurance is pretty comprehensive and is great for covering emergencies, the copays are rather high.
To find out what type of insurance plan you would have, you might want to try this strategy: call a chain pharmacy on a weekend early morning and tell the pharmacist that you are considering joining their chain and you would like to know what benefits are offered. They'll say something to help. If they don't tell you yourself (very likely), they will refer you to someone (maybe in HR).

As an update the owner of the pharmacy has agreed to pay 100% of my families benefits, which after I talked with him I found out that they totaled $1600/month😱, I can't believe rates have gone up this much. Anyways, he wants me to do some research to find out what the big chains are offering so he can match, $1600/month is a big chunk of change. I would be willing to take a lower hourly wage if he is going to pay 100%, that is 19+k raise essentially.

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

Benefits including Paid Time Off, 401K matching, sick days, health insurance, and bonus can usually cost employer about 20-30% of the salary.

So we think in terms of total financial package as employer.

When we hire a DOP at $120,000 per year, we know it's really going to cost $150,000... $150,000 employee means about $200,000 per year total compensation.

It's nice of your employer to pick up 100%... typically employer picks up 50 to 80% of health insurance...

 

[kvl1027]

Benefits including Paid Time Off, 401K matching, sick days, health insurance, and bonus can usually cost employer about 20-30% of the salary.

So we think in terms of total financial package as employer.

When we hire a DOP at $120,000 per year, we know it's really going to cost $150,000... $150,000 employee means about $200,000 per year total compensation.

It's nice of your employer to pick up 100%... typically employer picks up 50 to 80% of health insurance...

Thanks for the info. Yeah it is great that he picked up 100%, I may be making a little less per/hour than most, but the total compensation is competitive.

 

[wes011]

Thanks for the info. Yeah it is great that he picked up 100%, I may be making a little less per/hour than most, but the total compensation is competitive.

It's all about total compensation. Too many people get carried away solely on salary. When I worked in the pharma industry my salary was lower than an Eli Lilly Chemist but my benefits package made up for it because I received a very generous company match, a nice bonus (20% of my annual salary), and profit sharing based on company performance which could be as high as 8%. We hit 8% the two full years I was there.

Unfortunately when I left, I was only 40% vested, so I left a lot of company money on the table so to speak.