NECA-IBEW WELFARE TRUST FUND NEWSLETTER

Volume 25, No.1	DECATUR, ILLINOIS	June, 2009

Weathering the Storm

Despite the economic chaos of recent months, the Board of Trustees is proud to report that your Welfare Trust Fund remains on solid ground. We will continue to monitor the Fund’s finances and guide it through these tough times. In order to keep the Fund financially sound, the hourly employer contribution rate will increase by $0.10, bringing the active rate to $5.25, effective June 1, 2009. We feel that this increase, the first in the rate since 2004, will help keep the Fund strong.

What Would You Do For $100?

You can earn $100 for participating in a nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation, diabetes, heart health, weight loss, and stress management programs. When you participate in these programs, you will receive a contribution to your Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) Account. (You can earn up to $250 per member or spouse or $500 per family per year, excluding retirees over age 65, their spouses, and all covered dependent children. There is an additional one-time $50 bonus for completing a Health Risk Assessment within the first three months of eligibility for Plan benefits or the start of the Wellness Power program, bringing the total available reward to $300 per member or spouse or $600 per family per year.) If you have a question about your Wellness Power benefits, visit https://my.healthatoz.com/portal/bridge/NECAIBEW, call 877-219-5999 or contact the Fund Office.

Retiree Medical Benefit Improvement

Skilled Nursing Facility Coverage. The Fund, through an arrangement with the Monumental Life Insurance Company, has improved coverage for care received at skilled nursing facilities for eligible retirees, effective July 1, 2009. During the first 100 days of care, you pay nothing. The 2009 benefit levels and your costs for skilled nursing facility care are as follows:

• Days 1-20: Medicare pays 100%
  
  
• Days 21-100: Medicare and Monumental combine to pay 100%
  
  
• Days 101-365: Monumental pays up to $133.50 per day and you pay any amount over $133.50 per day.

Prescription Drug Benefit Improvements—For All Participants

• Viagra Covered. The Fund will now cover Viagra the same as any other prescription medications. Participants were previously required to provide proof of medical necessity and had to submit their claims to the Fund Office in order to receive coverage for Viagra. Now, participants will only need to pay the applicable prescription drug copayment when they fill their prescriptions. Fund coverage for Viagra is limited to 10 pills per month.
  
  
• Generic Medications Save Money. Later this year, the Fund will implement a new program designed to save participants and the Fund money. The Preferred Drug Step Therapy Program will encourage you and your doctor to consider generic alternatives to more expensive brand-name medications. You will receive more information about this program from the Fund and from Medco in the coming months.

COBRA Continuation Coverage

COBRA Coverage Self-Pay Rates Increasing. Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible to continue coverage on a self-pay basis as required under federal law, referred to as COBRA coverage. Effective June 1, 2009, monthly self-pay rates for COBRA coverage are as follows.

See the COBRA Continuation Coverage section of your Summary Plan Description (SPD) for more information.

• New COBRA Subsidy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) reduces the COBRA premium in some cases. You may be eligible for the premium reduction if you experience an involuntary termination of employment between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. If you qualify for the premium reduction, you will pay 35% of the monthly COBRA premium. This premium reduction is available for up to nine months. If your COBRA Continuation Coverage lasts for more than nine months, you will have to pay the full amount to continue your COBRA Continuation Coverage. Contact the Fund Office for more information.
  

News from Washington

• New Special Enrollment Period. As a result of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2009, effective April 1, 2009, you and your dependents may enroll in this Plan if you (or your dependents):
  
  
  • Have coverage through Medicaid or a State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and you (or your dependents) lose eligibility for that coverage.
    
    
  • Become eligible for a premium assistance program through Medicaid or CHIP.

  You must request enrollment within 60 days after you (or your dependents) are determined to be eligible for such assistance. To request special enrollment or obtain more information, contact the Fund Office.
  Medicare Reporting Requirements. As the result of a new federal law, the Fund is now required to gather information about your dependents who are covered under the NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund, and report that information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In March, the Fund mailed a letter to all participants explaining the new requirements. The mailing included a card to fill out and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for mailing the card back to the Fund Office. If you have not filled out your card, please do so immediately. If you need a card or want more information, call the Fund Office.

• Medicare Reminders

  • If you are eligible, you must enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. If you or one of your covered dependents are eligible for Medicare due to age, you must apply for Medicare Parts A and B. Coverage isn’t automatic. Whether you enroll or not, once you’re eligible for Medicare, the Plan will treat you as if you had enrolled. This means that if you haven’t enrolled for Medicare when eligible, your Plan benefits will be reduced as though you were enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B.
    
    
  • Coordination of COBRA Continuation Coverage with Medicare. If you have elected COBRA Continuation Coverage and your spouse is enrolled in Medicare, the Plan pays benefits after Medicare. Benefits paid by the Plan will be reduced so that the sum of benefits paid under the Plan and Medicare do not exceed the total allowable charge. Contact the Plan Office if you have questions about your benefits and Medicare.
    
    
• Update Your Fund Information. If you move or have any changes to your dependent information, be sure to contact the Fund Office. It is also a good idea to periodically review your beneficiary designation information and update it as necessary to ensure benefits are paid to the beneficiary of your choice. If you get divorced or have a death in the family, you must notify the Fund Office. If you do not notify the Fund Office, it may result in you owing money to the Fund. Also, if your spouse is employed he/she must enroll in the Medical coverage that is offered by their employer. The Fund has the right to recover any overpayment or mistaken payment made to you or to a third party. The Fund may recover those monies by reducing other benefit payments made to you or on your behalf, by commencing a legal action or by any other methods as the Trustees, in their discretion, deem appropriate.
  
  
• Protecting Your Privacy. The Fund has procedures in place to ensure the privacy of your health information under the Fund. For a copy of the Fund’s Privacy Policy, you can:
  
  
  • Arrange an appointment to review and/or obtain this document at the Welfare Fund Administrative Office;
    
    
  • Visit the NECA-IBEW Web site at www.neca-ibew.org to view and/or download a copy; or
    
    
  • Request, in writing, a copy from the Welfare Fund Administrative Office.

Have a Great Summer!