NECA-IBEW - Online Newsletter

NECA-IBEW WELFARE TRUST FUND NEWSLETTER


VOL. 22, No.1	DECATUR, ILLINOIS	June 2006

Fund’s Healthcare Horizon Looking Clearer

The NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund is designed to provide comprehensive healthcare benefits to all eligible participants-actives, retirees, and their dependents. With the current costs of healthcare, this coverage can be very beneficial to you and your family.
The Trustees recently completed a financial review of the Fund and are happy to report that expenses are being successfully managed and the Fund’s reserves have been steadily increasing. This is especially good news given the national trend of double-digit health care increases.
Realizing that, in addition to measures the Trustees have implemented to manage costs, much of this success is due to your wise health care decisions, the Trustees would like to share this positive trend with you. For that reason, the Trustees are evaluating changes that can be made to the Fund’s benefits.
One improvement that is being made immediately relates to continuing coverage and hour banks (see below). Other potential improvements are being considered and more information about those improvements will be provided as soon as it becomes available.

Your Hour Bank and Continuing Eligibility for Coverage

Once you are eligible for coverage, your coverage continues on a month-to-month basis. If you are a bargaining unit participant, at least 140 hours must be contributed each month to continue eligibility.
The Trustees are pleased to announce that effective June 1, 2006, if you earn more than 140 hours in a month, hours over 140 will be credited to your individual Hour Bank. The Fund is eliminating the provision that hours worked in a month between 140 and 150 must be credited to the Fund.
If you are a non-bargaining construction participant, this change means that you will have 20 hours, instead of 10 hours, credited to your individual Hour Bank account for each monthly employer contribution received on your behalf.
Remember that if you do not work at least 140 hours in a month, you may continue your eligibility by using any hours of credit you have in your Hour Bank to make up the difference. The initial eligibility requirement of 420 hours is not changing. In addition, the maximum balance that you may accumulate in your Hour Bank will remain at 840 hours. For active employees, see pages 11-18 of the 2006 Edition of your Summary Plan Description (SPD) for more information.

COBRA Continuation Coverage

In certain situations when your coverage under the Plan would otherwise end, you may be eligible to continue coverage for up to 36 months by electing COBRA Continuation Coverage. COBRA Continuation Coverage under the Plan includes:

Medical, prescription drug, dental and vision benefits for you and/or your dependents; and
Death and accidental death and dismemberment benefits for you (weekly disability benefits are not available).

If you are eligible and elect COBRA Continuation Coverage, you must make monthly self-payments. Each year the Trustees review the cost of providing this coverage and determine the monthly self-payment amount. Effective June 1, 2006, the monthly self-payment amount for COBRA Continuation Coverage will be $613.00

If you are currently making self-payments for COBRA Continuation Coverage that began before June 1, 2004, your rates may be different. Contact the Welfare Fund Administrative Office for rates effective June 1, 2006.

For more information about COBRA Continuation Coverage, active participants can refer to pages 19-20 of the 2006 Edition of your SPD.

A New Way to Serve You Better

The Trustees and Fund Office staff continually look for ways to improve the services provided to you, as well as how these services are provided. The Fund is currently in the process of updating computer systems. After careful review of several alternatives, a system was selected that will help the Fund Office staff serve you as efficiently as possible without unnecessarily increasing administrative expenses. Stay tuned for progress updates.

Rising Healthcare Expenses-Why and What You Can Do

Since 1990, the estimated per person health expenditures has nearly tripled from $2,737 per person to $6,423 per person in 2005. Physician services, hospital services, and prescription drug expenses combined account for 74% of private insurance healthcare expenses (Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).

There are several reason healthcare costs are on the rise, including:

Lifestyle choices such as tobacco use, alcohol use, and physical inactivity, which are linked to chronic diseases.
Increase in the number of Americans with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity.
Decrease in the number of employers providing healthcare insurance resulting in increases in uninsured care.
Rising prescription drug expenses due to more disease-specific and effective medications that are more expensive due to increased research and development costs. Additionally, drug manufacturers are spending millions of dollars to advertise medications to consumers which drive costs up.
New legislation (such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA) that requires plans and providers to change the way benefits are administered, increasing administrative costs.
Rise in malpractice insurance premiums increasing the practice of “defensive medicine” which results in the ordering of more tests and procedures.

Continue Helping Yourself and the Fund

Your efforts at controlling healthcare costs are appreciated and have helped the Fund improve its financial position. Here are a few reminders of simple ways you can continue to help control rising healthcare costs for yourself and the Fund:

Get involved. One of the best ways to help controls costs is to become an active healthcare consumer. Be sure you understand how the Plan works, investigate which providers participate in the Plan’s network, and research healthcare topics online to make sure you understand your options. Remember, every healthcare choice you make affects your pocketbook.
Use Network Providers. Network providers typically charge less for their services than non-network providers. In addition, when you use network providers, you pay a lower coinsurance percentage. However, don’t forget that providers can move in and out of network. So, it’s a good idea to verify that your provider still participates in the network before receiving treatment.
Request Generic Medications Whenever Possible. Generic medications must meet the same effectiveness and safety standards as brand name medications, but they typically cost substantially less. In addition, your copayment will be less when you fill your prescription with a generic medication. Whenever your doctor prescribes a medication, ask if a generic drug is available and appropriate.
Review Provider Bills Carefully. After you receive care, be sure to check your provider bills to ensure you and the Fund were charged correctly, that benefits were paid at network levels when appropriate, and that you were charged only for the services you actually received.

This newsletter contains only highlights of certain features of the NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund. Full details are contained in the documents that establish the Plan provisions. If there is a discrepancy between the wording here and the documents that establish the Plan, the document language will govern. The Trustees reserve the right to amend, modify, or terminate the Plan at any time.