News & Changes

Dear Participant:

The District Council Iron Workers Welfare Plan of Northern New Jersey believes that its Plan is a "grandfathered health plan" under the above Act.  As permitted by the Act, a grandfathered health plan can preserve certain basic health coverage that was already in effect when that law was enacted.  Prior to the Act being signed into law on March 23, 2010, plan benefits changes were previously adopted by the Trustees at their meeting of March 16, 2010 and notice of those benefit changes, effective July 1, 2010, were sent to you on May 12, 2010.
 

Being a gradfathered health plan means that your Plan may not include, at this time, certain consumer protections of the Act that apply to other plans, for example, the requirement for the provision of preventive health services withou any cost sharing.

 

However, grandfathered health plans must comply with certain other requirements and consumer protections in the Act, for example, the elimination of lifetime limits on benefits. These requiements will be effective for our Plan year beginning July, 1, 2011.

 

Questions regarding which protections apply and which protections do not apply to a grandfathered health plan and what might cause a plan to change from granfathered health plan status can be directed to the plan administrator at District Council Iron Workers Welfare Plan, 12 Edison Place, Springfield, NJ 07081, 973-376-7230, Ext. 621, Attn: Beatriz Ventura.

 

You may also contact the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-444-3272 or www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform.  This website has a table summarizing which protections do and so not apply to grandfathered health plans.

 

Please Click to see the notice