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THINK ABOUT IT
First in a
series of newsletters by former Local 150 Financial Secretary Ray Connors
HEALTH AND
WELFARE COVERAGE
Do you
think that the current administration has recently given you a
better health plan? True, they have finally made an effort. Do you
think they have improved the pharmacy? Not really. How about our
supplemental plan – think it’s good? Well, it could be better.
Let me
present you with a little background on this subject. Over the
years, Joe Ward and I tried many times to institute an easier, less
expensive, and more accessible health care plan for our members.
After studying the different plans available to us, Joe and I were
sure that a plan such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield would save Local 150
money. But just as importantly, it would make it much easier to
find health providers, especially for those residing outside of IL.
Also included in Joe’s plan was an advocacy program to answer any
questions the members had about their coverage. Recognizing that our
pharmacy and drug plan had become outdated and expensive, Joe also
wanted to improve this coverage. We tried for years to point out to
Bill Dugan how much better this plan would serve the membership and
also how much money it would save Local 150. But Bill Dugan just
didn’t want to be bothered with changes. So for years, Local 150
labored on using the old plans.
When Bill
Dugan learned that Joe Ward was planning to run against him, and
knowing that one of the first things Joe would do as
President-Business Manager is offer a better health and welfare plan
to the membership, Bill Dugan, playing catch-up, immediately
instituted the Blue Cross/Blue Shield and advocacy program that Joe
had been asking for all along. Then playing catch-up again, he
attempted to improve our pharmacy.
Unfortunately, this maneuver was too little too late. Joe has a
plan that not only will make it easier for our members to obtain
their prescriptions from the local pharmacy of their choice but will
be less costly for the local. Also included in the plans Joe will
offer the membership are an improved supplemental benefit program,
life insurance benefits that will be free of the taxes which are
currently imposed upon them, and higher life insurance benefits for
retired members. All of these improvements will not cost the
members themselves one additional penny, and will also save the
local millions of dollars.
It’s a
good thing that the members are finally seeing an improvement in
health coverage. But the fact is that it was always too much effort
on Bill Dugan’s part to even listen to new ideas. He would not have
even considered any changes if Joe had not decided to run against
him.
THINK
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