My employer provided health plan is moving from Kaiser to Kaiser + "nonstop health" (MERP). Am I going to get screwed on increased healthcare costs?

I've sat through the hour-long presentation explaining the plan twice now but can't make sense of it in terms of its real changes in costs. It really feels like a pyramid scheme pitch or a bunch of smoke and mirrors to obfuscate costs. It smells like a scam. Has anyone else gone through this change in coverage and know what it actually means?

Some key points from the presentation:

A MERP is not an HSA/FSA. It does not cover the same things (they list some things it doesn't cover but do not offer a comparison to other plan types) A MERP is supposed to allow employees to remain covered for some regular expenses while the employer moves to a lower-cost higher-deductible plan. (They do not say how our plan is actually changing.) The MERP comes with a prepaid visa card that is supposed to cover up to $5500 a year in copays and deductibles (not counting the things it doesn't cover)

Is this a real health plan anymore or is it a scam? Am I going to get screwed on high medication costs etc now? (my regular medications cost a preposterous amount before insurance and insurance discounts now.)

submitted by /u/SimplifyAndAddCoffee
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