News & Changes

Welfare Fund Benefit Changes effective September 1, 2009 and January 1, 2010

At the June 10th, 2009 Board of Trustees’ Meeting, the following changes were approved by the Trustees effective 9/1/2009 for the Welfare Fund:

  1. The Emergency Room co-payment increases to $100 and will continue to be waived if admitted to the hospital (does not apply to participants on Medicare).
  2. The Office Visit co-payment for Specialists (ie: cardiology, dermatology, etc.) increases to $30.  Office visits to primary care doctors remain at $25 (does not apply to participants on Medicare).
  3. The Prescription drug co-payment maximum increases to $75.  It is still a 10% co-payment with a minimum of $5.
  4. There are new requirements for Welfare Fund Medical Extensions, which are granted only through your Local Union and not the Welfare Fund (see attached letter).
  5. For all Retirees who retired on or after 1/1/2005, a new premium and age schedule has been established:
    1. Individual coverage for age 52-64 increases to $400 per month and family coverage increases to $700 per month.
    2. Individual coverage for Medicare enrolled members’ increases to $250 per month and family coverage increases to $450 per month.
  6. The Annual Co-Insurance Maximum, $10,000 individual and $25,000 family has been removed from the POS benefits.

The following changes were approved by the Trustees effective 1/1/2010 for the Welfare Fund:

  1. For Active Participants, the Out-of-Network Deductible increases to $500 per individual up to $1000 per family and the Out-of-Network Co-Insurance increases to 30%.
  2. For Retired Participants (non-Medicare), the Out-of-Network Deductible increases to $750 per individual up to $1500 per family and the Out-of-Network Co-Insurance increases to 40%.
  3. Retirement age to be eligible for Welfare Fund benefits is raised from age 52 to 55 with 25 years of service.
Share this Post: