Newsletter

Should you choose to utilize the services of a non-designated or non-participating facility, you may want to check in with the Plan beforehand to see if the Plan can negotiate a “one-off” agreement to help mitigate any large out of pocket expense to which you may be liable.

Then you need to learn about

RECIPROCITY

The I.B.E.W. National Reciprocity Agreement states that each Local’s Benefit office is to reciprocate all hours / contributions within thirty (30) days of receipt to the “home” Local that the participant designates within ERTS (Electronic Reciprocal Transfer System).

If you are scheduled to work within another I.B.E.W. Local’s jurisdiction, this is what you need to do after “clearing” in with that Local’s Union Office.

Prior to providing you with the overview of these programs, we are going to do something different and provide you with first with the take-away.

The takeaway:

You have to enroll into Medicare.
The timing of your enrollment into Medicare is important.

“IT’S A WISE MAN THAT LEARNS FROM HIS MISTAKES, BUT IT IS A DAMN FOOL THAT DOESN’T LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS!

- Frasier Crane

It’s a sad fact that the world is full of ne’er do wells. They are everywhere, and they are always blaming someone else for whatever bad situation they find themselves in.

A BETTER WAY TO UTILIZE YOUR HRA DEBIT CARD

Lumber, raw materials, car prices and the cost of a lot of other items are spiraling out of control. What’s a person to do? In crazy times, we must all be smarter and thoughtful in our actions and/or listen to our gut in order to get the best deal we can.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY RAMINIFICATIONS OF COVID AND HOW IT EFFECTS YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE A S.U.B. FUND BENEFITS

The Good News: Both mortality rates and infections are steadily dropping across the vaccinated population in the U.S.

The Bad News: COVID and its several variants remain as deadly as ever.

Medicare eligible retirees should be carrying three insurance cards on their person. Specifically, these cards are:

The UHC (United HealthCare) medical identification card.
The MagnaCare medical identification card. And,
The SavRx pharmacy identification card.

Pamela Huff, our associate, friend, and Benefit Fund employee of 22 years has decided to retire this July.

You all know Pam. She is the first voice you hear when calling in as well as the first person you see when you drop by the office. Over her tenure, Pam has helped the preponderance of the participants through both the happy or sad events in their lives and assisted the membership through Fund transitions and benefit changes.

As you are already aware, Ryan Reithel has been plucked from his Business Manager position of the I.B.E.W. Local 697 to become the newest member of the leadership team of the sixth district. I think this is bitter-sweet news for most of us. Certainly, we believe that the International could not have made a better choice and that Ryan will do the same stellar job in his new position as he did as Business Manager.

Crossword answers will appear within the Newsletter section of the Funds website in fifteen days.