Welfare Notes - March 2003

Active Member
401(k) information
Starting in late April the SUP Welfare Office will be able to assist members who participate in the 401(k) plan with a new benefit. By obtaining the participants approval the Plan Office will be able to access the individuals 401(k) account information via computer. The participant can then obtain the current balances, contributions, rate of return, and other financial information. This service is not only available to participating members who come to the Plan Office at Headquarters, but also to members at all branches. Your SUP Welfare representative will be able to access this information at branch offices when he attends the monthly membership meetings. The May issue of West Coast Sailors will let you know when the Welfare Office will be at branch meetings.
 
Pensioners
Reimbursement forms
The Plan Office would like to review one of the forms that retired members use to claim reimbursement from their annual medical allowance. The key to speeding up your claim and make our job more efficient is to complete and submit the reimbursement forms with your medical receipts. When your claim is paid by the Welfare Plan, a new reimbursement form will be mailed back to you with your check. You can then complete this new reimbursement form to submit with your next medical or dental claim. You DO NOT need to mail in the reimbursement forms unless you have medical or dental claims to be paid by the Plan.

When you fill the form, please complete the sections for you and for your dependent if submitting a claim for both of you. If the claim is to be paid directly to your doctor or provider, please check the “ASSIGNMENT” box that authorizes the Plan to send the check directly to them.

If you need some extra forms or have any questions on this procedure please call the SUP Welfare Plan Office.
 
 
Attention Members
Recent enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (hereinafter called the HIPAA Privacy Rule) requires the SUP Welfare Plan Inc., to provide all active members and retirees with a notice of our legal obligations and your rights as a Plan participant. You will shortly be receiving this notice by mail to your address on file. This notice will be a seven-page letter that the Plan encourages you to take the time to read.

The letter you will be receiving identifies what this protected information is and how the Plan works with this information to administer your benefits. While this letter will go into great detail to state rights and obligations, you as a participant will see virtually no change in the way your plan is administered since the HIPAA Privacy Act puts into law policies and procedures which have already been in place in the Welfare Plan Office.

SUP Welfare Plan
Rich Reed, Welfare Plan Representative
450 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
E-mail: supwelfarerep@hotmail.com