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:
- 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).
- 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).
- The Prescription drug co-payment maximum increases to $75. It is still a 10% co-payment with a minimum of $5.
- 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).
- For all Retirees who retired on or after 1/1/2005, a new premium and age schedule has been established:
- Individual coverage for age 52-64 increases to $400 per month and family coverage increases to $700 per month.
- Individual coverage for Medicare enrolled members’ increases to $250 per month and family coverage increases to $450 per month.
- 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:
- 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%.
- 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%.
- Retirement age to be eligible for Welfare Fund benefits is raised from age 52 to 55 with 25 years of service.
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