As with any plan change, your history remains with you: if your last exam was February 2001, your next exam can take place February 2002.

The annual eye exam, and annual contacts or annual lenses and frames is a big improvement over the current benefit, and is the largest benefit change made to vision coverage since the Trust was created. Members, especially those in the Cole plan, can now get glasses for themselves and their families without breaking the bank.

The Union-led Trust enacted the change to better serve its members. The Benefits Trust Board of Trustees made this major improvement in response to members’ suggestions in the 2000 benefits survey, and also through careful analysis of plan usage and projected member needs.

Offering an exam plus the ability to get the corrective materials needed would most positively impact the most members, given the ages of the population of all Trust-covered members and their dependents. Through analysis, the Trustees found that proportionally, the members getting glasses or lenses did not opt for many add-on options. However, the majority of Union members and their dependents need an annual eye exam, so offering an exam plus the ability to get the corrective assistance needed would yield "the biggest bang for the buck."

Of course, any improvement required analysis of funding available, because the State barely covers the basic cost for dental, vision and life insurance for Trust members. Funding for the Trust was hard-won in the last round of bargaining and is likely to be just as rough in the 2003 bargaining sessions. As such, the Trust is spending down its unrestricted reserves to fund operational costs and Working Solutions Service, and any changes to benefit levels would increase the rate of the "spend down" (making the 2003 bargaining more critical than ever). However, the Trustees felt that the members were clear about their needs, and that adding VISION 12/12/12 would significantly improve the quality of members’ lives, thus fulfilling our mission.