Medical Plan: There were some improvements and some changes, some of which have caused frustration with out-of-network dental reimbursements. If your dental provider is out of network, please submit your claims directly to the Plan Office for direct reimbursement. However, if you use a dental or vision provider that is in the Blue Dental or Blue Vision network, you will benefit from discounted services and you will only pay the provider your out-of-pocket share, and your provider will submit the claim directly. We will continue to shop around for better options for members in the dental and vision world. If you submit an out-of-network vision claim for reimbursement, please note the reimbursement check will come directly from our third-party vision benefits provider, Davis Vision. The change to the Blue Dental and Blue Vision network has to date saved hundreds of thousands of dollars while increasing utilization of the benefits.
Separately, a qualifying survey was sent out by BMI requesting our members with dependents provide verification. This audit was a “best practices” recommendation specified by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits and approved by the AMO Plans trustees (company and union). The Plans trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure the Plan is only providing benefits to those who are actually eligible for the coverage. We understand dependent audits can cause inconvenience, and since this is our first, we have learned how to help reduce such inconvenience in the future. Although this is not going to be an annual requirement, the early return suggests this audit is something that may need to be done on a periodic basis. To date, we have already had some officers self-report ineligible dependents who will be removed from the Medical Plan.
Retirement: In December, retirees will get a 13th check – the first time they have received any improvement since our Defined Benefit Pension Plan was frozen in 2008. Those who have not retired but are still owed a pension received a 10 percent increase on the value of their uncollected checks. The DC Plan, which affects all of us active members and applicants, received improvements as well. Schedule 3.1 takes effect January 1.
The Executive Board and Board of Trustees met in November and reviewed our pension plans, both the defined benefit and the defined contribution plans. We are in good shape and are continuing on a positive path.
Record keeping and reporting: Newport Group has been our AMO Plans record keeper for years. They recently announced they are getting out of the recordkeeping business for Taft Hartley retirement plans such as ours. Numerous recordkeeping companies were interviewed, and during the trustees’ meetings, we met with two of the finalists and chose our next record keeper. The details will be provided early in 2025. There will be a transition that will take place over the next few months, with completion by end of March 2025. AMO Plans will make announcements as the process advances.
College scholarships: As a reminder, AMO members who have eligible dependent children attending college can get up to $3,000 in scholarship money per school year for each dependent child (maximum of four years). Please contact the Plan Office at 1-800-348-6515 extension 12 for details. The scholarship application is located on the AMO Plans website and is available as a link in the Medical Plan Forms section .
Willie Barrere
National President