NECA-IBEW WELFARE TRUST FUND NEWSLETTER

Volume 25, No.2	DECATUR, ILLINOIS	December, 2009

Trust Fund on Solid Financial Ground

The Board of Trustees of the NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund continually monitors the financial health of your benefit funds. Our goal is to safeguard your funds so that we can provide you with the best possible benefits at a reasonable cost.

Despite the nation’s continuing economic challenges, the Board of Trustees is proud to report that your Welfare Trust Fund remains on solid ground. Based on the Fund’s current financial status, the Board is pleased to announce that it has decided to defer the next hourly contribution rate increase for six months, from June 1, 2010, until January 1, 2011. As we have always done, we will continue to monitor the Fund’s finances and guide it through these tough times.

We encourage you to read this newsletter. The articles are designed to help you get the most out of your benefits, make smart choices about your health and your care, and save you and the Plan money.

Protecting Your Personal Information

As the result of a new federal law, you must provide written authorization to designate an individual to act on your behalf. You must complete and submit a Customer Service Consent Form to allow the Fund to share your information with your authorized representative, such as your spouse or health care representative. If you need a form or want more information, log on to the Fund’s website www.neca-ibew.org and click on the Welfare tab or call the Fund Office at (217) 875-0254 or toll-free at (800) 765-4239.

Did You Submit a Copy of Your Medicare Card to the Fund?

The Fund is required under federal law to gather information about your dependents who are covered under the Welfare Trust Fund and report that information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS requires, where applicable, the reporting of each covered individual’s Medicare Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN), which can be found on the Medicare Card. Please submit a copy of the Medicare Card for you and your covered dependents to the Fund Office.

New Heath Risk Assessment Awards. Effective January 1, 2010, if you complete an online Health Risk Assessment within the first three months of the Plan year (before April 1 of each year) or within your first three months of eligibility for Plan benefits, you will receive a $100 contribution to your Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) Account. If you complete your online assessment after this period, you will not be eligible for the $100 HRA award. When you complete this confidential online questionnaire, you will receive recommendations on how to enhance your health and well-being.

Note: The Health Risk Assessment complies with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) that prohibits asking questions about genetic testing and family medical history. We have removed genetic information questions from the assessment.

2010 HRA Award Limits. The total annual award amount available for participating in the Wellness Power programs (Health Risk Assessment, Wellness Programs and/or Disease Management Programs) is $300 per member or spouse and $600 per family, excluding retirees over age 65, their spouses, and all covered dependent children.

Online Resources. The Welfare Trust Fund Web site (www.neca-ibew.org) features a page devoted to your Wellness Power benefits and a link from our home page to your Wellness and Disease Management site: https://my.healthatoz.com/portal/bridge/NECAIBEW. You can also call the Fund's Dedicated Wellness Power Customer Service Line at (877) 386-0888.

Medical Benefit Improvement

Flu Shots Covered. Effective November 1, 2009, the Fund is covering Vaccinations and Inoculations, such as Seasonal Flu Shots and the H1N1 Vaccine, under the Plan’s Medical Benefits. All regular Plan rules apply, such as deductibles and out-of-pocket limits.

Retiree Coverage: Alternative Plan Reminder

The Alternative Plan provides a lower level of coverage at a reduced cost. Retirees can select Alternative Plan coverage at any time. However, once you select Alternative Plan coverage, you do not have the option, at any time, of re-enrolling in the higher level of coverage.

• Retirees and their eligible Dependents who are not yet eligible for Medicare Parts A and B have two coverage options. Continue coverage under the Comprehensive Major Medical Benefits (Base Plan) or elect coverage under the Alternative Plan.

• Retirees and their eligible Dependents who are age 65 or over and eligible for Medicare Parts A and B have Medical Benefits through Monumental Life Insurance Company.  However, Retirees have a choice when electing Prescription Drug Benefits: you many choose between the Base Plan’s Prescription Drug Benefits or the Alternative Plan’s Prescription Drug Benefits.

If you are currently enrolled in the Fund’s Retiree Plan and wish to select the Alternative Plan, please contact the Fund Office at (800) 765-4239, extension 116.

Helpful Reminders

Retiree Coverage and Monumental. If you are age 65 or older and covered under the Monumental insured retiree program for Medicare-eligible individuals, you should contact Monumental only about filing medical claims or to check on the status of a claim. For all other issues, such as designating a beneficiary, dropping coverage, or changing an address, you should contact the Fund Office. Remember that notifying Monumental of a change does not update your information with the Welfare Trust Fund. The information on file with the Welfare Trust Fund is used to determine your eligibility for benefits and to provide you with important updates about your benefits. In addition, in many cases Monumental is not aware of, or does not have the most up-to-date information about, your benefits. For example, Monumental is not responsible for setting monthly payment amounts, determining eligibility, paying death benefits, coordinating beneficiary or dependent coverage information or prescription drug benefits.

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 your owing money to the Fund. 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.

If Your Spouse Has Other Coverage. Remember that if your spouse is eligible for other health care coverage through an employer plan, regardless of the cost to your spouse, your spouse must take that coverage or your spouse will not be covered under this Plan.So, be sure your spouse enrolls in his or her plan during that plan’s open enrollment. If your spouse’s employer does not offer health care coverage or if your spouse is not eligible for the coverage offered, you need to submit a letter to the Fund Office from the employer to that effect.

Prescription Drug Benefits and Medicare. The NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund’s Prescription Drug Benefits are, on average, as good as the standard Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage. If you are a surviving spouse, Retiree, or Dependent of a surviving spouse or Retiree and are eligible for and enroll in Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage (Medicare Part D), you will no longer receive Prescription Drug Benefits under the NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund. You will continue to be eligible to receive Medical Benefits under the Welfare Trust Fund. However, your monthly premium for coverage under the Welfare Trust Fund will not change as a result of not receiving Prescription Drug Benefits from the Fund.

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 Fund 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 Fund Office.

Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act. As required by the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998, the Plan provides medical and surgical benefits for mastectomy-related services, including reconstruction and surgery to achieve symmetry between the breasts, prostheses, and complications resulting from a mastectomy (including lymphedema). These benefits are subject to the Plan’s deductible and coinsurance provisions.

Happy New Year to You and Your Families! From the Board of Trustees and the Welfare Trust Fund Staff