Customer Service Updates Forms Search
Benefit Plans
Publications
Unions
FAQ
Contact Us
Links
Home

May 1998 Trust Talk

Looking Ahead: 1998 Plan Year and Beyond

Survey Update

This past winter, the Trust administered a survey about benefits, communication and your expectations of the Trust. A summary of the findings from the survey will be communicated to all members who were selected for the survey by the organization who collected the input. These findings also will be available to members who pick them up at the Trust's fair booth or who call the Trust.

The Trustees recently conducted a strategic planning session to set goals for the next several years and find ways to continue to fulfill the Trust's mission.

The Trust's mission is to deliver high-quality benefits and services to Union-represented public employees, to enrich their overall quality of life and to enhance their appreciation of their respective Unions.

Here are the key points of the Trustees' discussion:

• Keep the feedback loop open — How to continue to get your input on benefit priorities and our performance; how to reach as many members as possible – perhaps through the use of other media.

• Anticipate your future needs – How to make sure we're still meeting your needs in the future. What other benefit needs do our members have?

• Ensure the Trust's future – How to make sure the Trust's growth is sustainable and that the mission continues to be met. Where does the Trust need to be in three years? Five years?

Look for more information on these issues in upcoming Trust Talks and in your Union publications (District 1199/SEIU and OCSEA/AFSCME).

A WORD FROM DAS

Make Your Selections Carefully
Next Health Care Open Enrollment to Occur Spring 2000


Open enrollment for health care (medical) is also scheduled from May 18, 1998, through June 5, 1998. During the open enrollment period, it is particularly important to consider your current and future health care needs. The next health care open enrollment is planned for spring 2000. That will be your next opportunity to make changes in your health plan.

Make your selections carefully. In early May, your Payroll/Personnel officer will provide you with "Your Open Enrollment Health Care Comparison Chart and Guide." The guide and the materials you receive directly from the plans will help you understand your benefits. Please store these materials in your Employee Handbook box. While the materials are especially important during the open enrollment period, many employees use them throughout the year to answer their benefit questions.

IMPORTANT ALERT
FROM THE TRUST & DAS

To continue medical, dental or vision benefits for any eligible dependents age 19 and over, you must complete a notarized affidavit annually. For this open enrollment, you must return the affidavit to your agency's Payroll/Personnel officer by June 5, 1998.

You may use the affidavit in "Your Open Enrollment Health Care Comparison Chart and Guide" from the State or the affidavit on the back of the Enrollment and Change form in your enrollment kit from the Trust (Trust Benefits Highlights '98).

Trust Talk contains highlights of your benefits and is not a plan document. See the official plan documets for full plan details of if a discrepancy exists between this newsletter and the plan documts; the plan documets are always the final authority.