News & Notes

 

         At any time.........

Call the Plan Administrative Manager, Renee Bossone, in Fund office at 203-375-6088.

Visit Aetna’s website at www.aetna.com, to find a medical or dental provider, locate Urgent Care Centers or Walk-in Clinics near you, or to get discount info.

Call Aetna at 866-658-2455 for any medical or claim questions or concerns.

Contact Aetna’s Employee Assistance Program  (EAP) 

           1-888-238-6232          www.resoursesforliving.com

Log In: local145
Password: EAP

Dial 988 for immediate mental health support
When you need the police, fire department or an ambulance, you know to call 911. Now a new number, 988, is available for non-urgent and emergency mental health concerns.

The goal of 988 is to reduce suicide attempts and deaths by suicide and provide individuals and their friends and families access to immediate mental health support.

988 is available if you’re having thoughts of suicide, feeling emotional distress or struggling with substance misuse. 988 is also available if you have concerns about someone else and need guidance, help or support. 

When dialing 988:

  • The call goes to a local crisis center
  • The caller is connected to a skilled and trained counselor
  • Counselors listen and provide personalized support, resources and help in a mental health emergency

988 is free and available 24/7/365This easy-to-remember number makes it simple to get the mental health support and help you need.

COBRA Initial Notice


This notice contains important information about your right to COBRA continuation coverage, which is a temporary extension of coverage under the Plan. This notice generally explains COBRA continuation coverage, when it may become available to you and your family, and what you need to do to protect the right to receive it.

The right to COBRA continuation coverage was created by a federal law, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). COBRA continuation coverage can become available to you when you would otherwise lose your Plan coverage. It can also become available to other members of your family who are covered under the Plan when they would otherwise lose their Plan coverage. For additional information about your rights and obligations under the Plan and under federal law, you should review the Plan’s Summary Plan Description or contact the Plan’s Benefit Manager.

What is COBRA Continuation Coverage?

COBRA continuation coverage is a continuation of Plan coverage when coverage would otherwise end because of a life event known as a “qualifying event.” Specific qualifying events are listed later in this notice. After a qualifying event, COBRA continuation coverage must be offered to each person who is a “qualified beneficiary.” You, your spouse, and/or your dependent children could become qualified beneficiaries if coverage under the Plan is lost because of the qualifying event. Under the Plan, qualified beneficiaries who elect COBRA continuation coverage must pay for that coverage in order for it to continue.

If you are an employee, you will become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your coverage under the Plan because either one of the following qualifying events happens:

· Your hours of employment are reduced, or

· Your employment ends for any reason other than your gross misconduct.

If you are the spouse of an employee, you will become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your coverage under the Plan because any of the following qualifying events happens:

· Your spouse dies;

· Your spouse’s hours of employment are reduced;

· Your spouse’s employment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct;

· Your spouse becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both); or

· You become divorced or legally separated from your spouse.

Your dependent children will become qualified beneficiaries if they lose coverage under the Plan because any of the following qualifying events happens:

· The parent-employee dies;

· The parent-employee’s hours of employment are reduced;

· The parent-employee’s employment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct;

· The parent-employee becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (Part A, Part B, or both);

· The parents become divorced or legally separated; or

· The child stops being eligible for coverage under the plan as a “dependent child.”

When is COBRA Coverage Available?

The Plan will offer COBRA continuation coverage to qualified beneficiaries only after the Plan Benefit Manager has been notified that a qualifying event has occurred. When the qualifying event is the end of employment or reduction of hours of employment, death of the employee, or the employee's becoming entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both), the employer must notify the Plan Benefit Manager of the qualifying event.

You Must Give Notice of Some Qualifying Events

For the other qualifying events (divorce or legal separation of the employee and spouse, or a dependent child’s losing eligibility for coverage as a dependent child), you must notify the Plan within 60 days of when the qualifying event occurs. You must provide this notice to: Renee Bossone, Plan Administrative Manager, 2505 Main Street, Suite 233, Stratford, Connecticut 06615.

How is COBRA Coverage Provided?

Once the Plan receives notice that a qualifying event has occurred, COBRA continuation coverage will be offered to each of the qualified beneficiaries. Each qualified beneficiary will have an independent right to elect COBRA continuation coverage. Covered employees may elect COBRA continuation coverage on behalf of their spouses, and parents may elect COBRA continuation coverage on behalf of their children.

COBRA continuation coverage is a temporary continuation of coverage. When the qualifying event is the death of the employee, the employee's becoming entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both), your divorce or legal separation, or a dependent child's losing eligibility as a dependent child, COBRA continuation coverage lasts for up to a total of 36 months. When the qualifying event is the end of employment or reduction of the employee's hours of employment, and the employee became entitled to Medicare benefits less than 18 months before the qualifying event, COBRA continuation coverage for qualified beneficiaries other than the employee lasts until 36 months after the date of Medicare entitlement. For example, if a covered employee becomes entitled to Medicare 8 months before the date on which his employment terminates, COBRA continuation coverage for his spouse and children can last up to 36 months after the date of Medicare entitlement, which is equal to 28 months after the date of the qualifying event (36 months minus 8 months). Otherwise, when the qualifying event is the end of employment or reduction of the employee’s hours of employment, COBRA continuation coverage generally lasts for only up to a total of 18 months. There are two ways in which this 18-month period of COBRA continuation coverage can be extended.

Disability extension of 18-month period of continuation coverage

If you or anyone in your family covered under the Plan is determined by the Social Security Administration to be disabled and you notify the Plan as described above in a timely fashion, you and your entire family may be entitled to receive up to an additional 11 months of COBRA continuation coverage, for a total maximum of 29 months. The disability would have to have started at some time before the 60th day of COBRA continuation coverage, and must last at least until the end of the 18-month period of continuation coverage.

Second qualifying event extension of 18-month period of continuation coverage

If your family experiences another qualifying event while receiving 18 months of COBRA continuation coverage, the spouse and dependent children in your family can get up to 18 additional months of COBRA continuation coverage, for a maximum of 36 months, if notice of the second qualifying event is properly given to the Plan as described above. This extension may be available to the spouse and any dependent children receiving continuation coverage if the employee or former employee dies, becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both), or gets divorced or legally separated, or if the dependent child stops being eligible under the Plan as a dependent child, but only if the event would have caused the spouse or dependent child to lose coverage under the Plan had the first qualifying event not occurred.

If You Have Questions

Questions concerning your Plan or your COBRA continuation coverage rights should be addressed to the contact identified below. For more information about your rights under ERISA, including COBRA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and other laws affecting group health plans, contact the nearest Regional or District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in your area or visit the EBSA website at www.dol.gov/ebsa. (Addresses and phone numbers of Regional and District EBSA Offices are available through EBSA’s website.)

Keep Your Plan Informed of Address Changes

In order to protect your family’s rights, you should keep the Plan informed of any changes in the addresses of family members. You should also keep a copy, for your records, of any notices you send to the Plan.