The Voice

Another year has come and gone. Some of our members are headed toward the golden years of retirement, while others are starting a new family.

In whatever direction you may be headed, there is a negotiated benefit that can assist you dealing with the stresses of work and home life.

The confidential program—offered to all active UUP members and their families—is called NYS Balance. NYS Balance makes life less complicated by researching and referring you to programs and services that best meet your needs.

NYS Balance is available 24/7.

The following is a brief overview of some of the referral services:

Education

• K-12 Public and Private Schools
• High School/Vocational Programs
• Colleges and Universities
• Financial Aid/Scholarships
• Tutoring Programs

Child Care and Parenting

• Child Care Centers
• Nanny/Au Pair Placement
• Adoption Resources
• Summer Camps
• Parenting Classes
• Support Groups

Elder Care/Adults with Disabilities

It’s that time of year again—the Option Transfer Period—when you can elect what health plan suits you and the needs of your family. This is one of the most important decisions that you will have to make over the course of this year.

Our members have the following options through the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP). You can move:

• from a NYSHIP HMO to the Empire Plan;
• from the Empire Plan to a NYSHIP HMO; or
• from one NYSHIP HMO to another NYSHIP HMO that has a NYSHIP service area where you live or work.

So, what should you think about when preparing to make this decision? Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

1) I would recommend using the Choices checklist. This is a great tool to compare Empire Plan benefits to those of an HMO. The checklist can be found at www.cs.state.ny.us. Select Employees, then State Government Employee, then NYSHIP, then Health Benefits and Option Transfer, then Choices 2009.

If you have questions, call the plan directly; telephone numbers are listed in Choices.

The NYSUT Member Benefits Corporation Board of Directors is pleased to announce their recent endorsement of a new Financial Counseling Program.

Provided by Stacey Braun Associates Inc., an independent investment advisory company, members will receive unbiased and objective advice customized for every financial situation. Stacey Braun’s planners and advisors are fee-based and prohibited from selling investment or insurance products.

The program’s annual fee is $260, reduced to $250 if paying through payroll or pension deduction.

Members who enroll are entitled to six hours of toll-free phone consultations with a Stacey Braun certified financial planner or registered investment advisor. Members can request customized written summaries and reports on a variety of financial issues. Specific 403(b) advice is also included in the program.

Other benefits include access to the Stacey Braun password-protected Web site and a 24-hour e-mail helpdesk for basic financial questions.

In-person consultations, limited to 90 minutes, can be arranged for an additional fee of $250.

It is now more affordable for UUPers and their families to enjoy movies, theme parks, videos and DVDs, and a lot more.

The AFT+ entertainment discount program includes reduced prices on: movie rentals; movie theater tickets, up to 40 percent; live theatre; theme parks, up to $15 a ticket; museums, zoos and aquariums; sporting events; and ski lift tickets.

What’s more, members who sign up for the AFT+ entertainment discount program earn 100 “Advantage Points” to use instead of money toward future entertainment. One additional point is earned for every dollar spent through the program.

For more details, go to unionplus.org/entertainment or call (800) 565-3712, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. Use AFT ID number 744387769.

The AFT+ Rewards Network Dining program can save members up to 20 percent at thousands of participating Rewards Network restaurants, bars and clubs in the U.S. and Canada.

The Benefit Trust Fund has received numerous phone calls from our members regarding the new legislation on coverage expansion through age 29. Hopefully, the FAQs below will make it easier to understand the new “Age 29” law.

Q: Who is eligible?
A: In order to participate, the “Age 29” law requires the coverage, the young adult’s parent, and the young adult to meet the following requirements. The coverage must:

• Be a group health insurance policy that includes coverage for dependents;
• Be issued for delivery in New York state; and
• Be fully insured (this benefit does not apply to self-insured plans).

The parent must be eligible for coverage under the group policy as an employee or group member. The young adult must:

Payroll deduction of NYSUT Member Benefits-endorsed programs eliminates check-writing and late payments. This payment option is available to eligible bargaining unit members.

Pension deduction is available to retirees collecting a monthly pension benefit from the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System or NYS Employees’ Retirement System. It’s also an option for retirees who receive income from a monthly lifetime annuity from TIAA-CREF.

Annual premiums are easier to budget, since they are divided into smaller payments deducted from 26 paychecks or from 12 monthly pension benefits.

Payroll and pension deduction also yield reduced premiums and additional coverage at no cost for these NYSUT Member Benefits-endorsed programs: Term Life Insurance; Catastrophe Major Medical Insurance; Long-Term Care Insurance; Disability Insurance; Automobile, Homeowners/Renters, Boat, Personal Excess Liability (Umbrella) and other personal property insurance; Legal Service Plan; and Retiree Dental Plan.

Any member who has ever contacted the UUP Benefit Trust Fund (BTF) about health-related benefits knows we don’t share this information easily. First, we verify the identity of the caller by asking for a name, address and NYSUT ID number. Once we have this information, we proceed to answer a member’s questions.

What many members may not know is that we cannot discuss benefits relating to other family members over age 19 without prior HIPAA authorization. HIPAA—the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act—is a federal law designed to safeguard personal health information such as medical conditions, treatment or payment for treatment.

The BTF must comply with these privacy safeguards. Questions that may seem innocuous—a spouse’s dental claim or a college-age dependent’s vision information—cannot be answered unless the BTF has a signed authorization on file.

The HIPAA form can be found at www.uupinfo.org/benefits/forms/Benefit Trust Fund HIPAA Authorization Form.pdf.

The NYSUT Member Benefits Corporation recently endorsed EPIC (Ear Professionals International Corporation) Hearing Service Plan—a national network of more than 3,500 credentialed audiologists and ear, nose and throat physicians.

Through these providers (more than 250 in New York state), bargaining unit members receive customized care and, if needed, may purchase brand-name hearing aids at substantial savings.

EPIC identifies and screens qualified experts in hearing evaluation and treatment. It researches and evaluates all hearing aid technology to assure the latest and most effective options are available.

Also, EPIC negotiates the best prices for all treatment protocols, including hearing devices. EPIC prices may be as much as 50 percent below manufacturer’s suggested retail price and up to 35 percent lower than most discount offers.

The UUP Benefit Trust Fund (BTF) extends warm “welcome back” wishes to all our new and returning UUP members and their families.

It’s that time of year again to give you a little refresher on your benefits. Right here at UUP headquarters, the BTF administers your dental, vision, scholarship and life insurance benefits.

In 1983, New York State United Teachers created NYSUT Member Benefits Trust as a tax-exempt, not-for-profit trust fund for the purpose of providing members access to quality, competitive insurance plans and benefit programs.

In 2008, the Trust established NYSUT Member Benefits Corporation. This for-profit, taxable subsidiary was created to protect the Trust’s tax-exempt status and to provide the opportunity to expand the types of endorsed programs and services.

No members’ NYSUT dues dollars are used to support Member Benefits or its programs in any way. Member Benefits receives funds from negotiated expense reimbursement/endorsement arrangements with some of the endorsed programs’ carriers.

These funds are used solely to defray the costs of administering endorsed programs. Where appropriate, Member Benefits’ revenue is used to enhance programs.

No monies are paid to NYSUT except reimbursement for use of facilities and for services and personnel provided by NYSUT to, and at the request of, Member Benefits.