LOCAL 2911, UAW                Retiree Bulletin

DIPLOMAT PLAZA, P.O. BOX 6056

FORT WAYNE, IN  46896-0056                      November, 2006

http://www.uawlocal2911.org/
 

 

  Local 305 Officers:                                                    Local 2911 Officers:

Jeanette Gaffer                       Chairperson                   Dan Alter

Barb Parrott                            Vice Chairperson            Sandra Poling

Hazel Sitko                             Recording Sec.              

Carol Davis                             Financial Sec.                Steve Bell

Dorothy Ward                         Sgt. of Arms                  Don Steffen

                                                                        Insurance                      Dan Alter 461-1383 and/or 918-4094 (Ft. Wayne #)

 

Chapter Meetings:

There will be NO Chapter 305 and 2911 retiree meetings held in December and January

 

We wish Everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

 

 

Thanks to all of you who voted on November 7th.  Nationwide the voice of retiree’s have been heard.

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International Truck and Engine Corp. recently mailed a notice to Retirees concerning Medicare Part D.

You should keep this notice in your records.

Medicare Part D:

Your coverage under the International Retiree group plan equals or exceeds the coverage under Medicare Part D.

You should NOT sign up for Medicare Part D.

If you elect to enroll in Medicare part D and wish to cancel your prescription coverage under the International plan, all of your coverage provided under the plan (e.g. medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and hearing ) must also be cancelled. In a few rare situations you or your dependant may be enrolled in Medicare Part D, and also keep your International coverage as secondary.

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For those retiree’s who soon will turn 65 years old your insurance coverage will change at 65 as follows:

 

Medicare becomes the primary health care provider and the Shy plan becomes secondary.

On the Medicare effective date, your International health insurance premiums will reduce from $50.00 per month to $25.00 per month. This is to help offset the Medicare premiums which will be deducted from your Social Security check. (In 2006 the Medicare rate is $ 88.50 per month, for 2007 the premium will be $93.50 per month.)

Medicare consists of 3 basic parts:

Medicare part A        Medicare part A is the Medicare Hospital coverage plan.

Medicare part B        Medicare part B is the Medicare Medical coverage plan.

Medicare part D     Medicare part D is the Medicare Drug Plan

 

Fortunately this happens pretty much automatically provided you are signed up for Social Security benefits.

 

Once you or your spouse is signed up for Social Security Benefits, Social Security will automatically enroll you in the Medicare A & B program @ age 65.

 

 

You will receive a notification from Medicare a few months prior to your 65th birthday advising you of being enrolled in Medicare A & B.

 

At that time you will receive your Medicare ID card, there is also an option to refuse Medicare Part B insurance stating “I do not want Medical insurance. This must be signed by yourself and a witness.

Do not sign this card and send it back in, unless you are sure you do not want Medicare Part B coverage.

If you waive coverage under Medicare part B you will have to pay for whatever Medicare would have covered under that part of the program.

 

YOUR AETNA/INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE AUTOMATICALLY BECOMES A MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT @ AGE 65 AND WILL THEN PAY only 20% OF THE MEDICARE APPROVED AMOUNT EVEN IF YOU REFUSED MEDICARE COVERAGE.

 We strongly recommend that you participate in both Part A and Part B of the Medicare program.

As long as you do not send in the card refusing Medicare, you will be enrolled automatically.

 

Other changes also take effect at this time:

Your deductible and total out of pocket costs will be as follows:

 

Deductible-- $200.00 per year: This represents both Medicare and Aetna deductibles for a total of $200.00

No co-pay (the additional $322.00 per year for non-Medicare)

 

Payment of benefits under the Shy plan is dependent on whether benefits are allowable by Medicare.

Most charges are approved by Medicare as long as they are medically necessary, including office visits.

Frequently, some charges are denied by Medicare such as an EKG prior to a procedure such as knee replacement because it is done mainly for liability purposes and not medical reasons.

If Medicare denies charges then it will also be denied by Aetna.

 

MEDICARE DIRECT:

International Truck and Engine Corp. will send you a registration card to enroll in “Medicare Direct” a few months before you are age 65. This should be filled out and returned to Aetna.

Medicare Direct is an electronic service that eliminates your need to file claims for supplemental benefits!

Once you have signed up for Medicare Direct, Medicare automatically forwards any remaining expenses directly to Aetna. This not only simplifies it for you but also speeds up the process for everyone involved.

If you are not sure if you are enrolled in Medicare Direct, you should call Aetna @ 1-800-435-2969 to check if you are enrolled in Medicare Direct or to ask to be enrolled in Medicare Direct.  This is also applies to your spouse when they turn 65.