Health Care Reform - What Does it Mean For You?

There is so much talk about the government's Health Care Reform Act these days and it's hard to sort out what that means for you and your family. Many of the provisions of the Act will be phased in over time, so you probably won't see too many changes right now.
Here are some of the elements of change that you will see in the near  future:

• Dependent children coverage required up to age 26 unless the dependent is eligible for other employer coverage.
  This coverage will be mandated whether or not the dependent child is married.
  
• No preexisting condition exclusions for children under age 19.
  
• No lifetime limits; reasonable annual limits. This is only applicable to essential benefits (the definition of which
  will be included in the regulations when they are issued by the government.)
  Later on, in a subsequent phase of the Act, the following coverage reforms will be phased in:
  
• Uniform explanations of coverage
  
• No waiting periods exceeding 90 days
  
• No preexisting condition exclusions (at all)
  
• No annual limits (applicable to essential benefits only)
  
• Dependent coverage required up to age 26, even if they have access to other coverage.

All of the above changes will require written regulations to solidify the rules. So far, we only have the outline of things to come. You will no doubt receive several notices during the coming months with the changes that are effective on your health and welfare plans, so it's important to read your Plan notices carefully.

Most importantly for you, when can you expect to see the changes on your Plan? Unfortunately, that's not an easy question to answer. That's because the changes take effect based upon the Plan year and each Trust Fund has its own Plan year. For example, one Trust Fund may be on a calendar Plan year (January through December), another may have a Plan year ending May 31 or June 30 and so on.

Essentially, the regulations provide that the first phase of coverage changes must be effective starting with the first plan year beginning on or after September 23, 2010. For example, if your Trust Fund has a calendar Plan year, the new provisions could become effective January 1, 2011. If, however, your Trust has a Plan year ending June 30, the provisions would not become effective until July 1, 2011. For easy reference, the following is a list of Trust Funds administered through Southwest Administrators and their respective Plan year-end dates:

Central California Electrical Workers Health and Welfare Trust - July 31

Southern California Bakery Drivers Security Fund - May 31

Southern California Dairy Industry Security Fund - May 31

Teamsters & Food Employers Security Trust Fund- December 31

Joint Council #42 Welfare Trust Fund - May 31

Teamsters Miscellaneous Security Trust Fund - May 31

Southern California Soft Drink Industry and Teamsters Health and Welfare Trust Fund -  June 30

Western Teamsters Welfare Trust - August 31

Teamsters Local 631 Security Fund for Southern Nevada - April 30

Las Vegas Firefighters Health and Welfare Trust - September 30
Remember that all of the coverage changes are not required to be effective at the same time. There are different phases of the reforms, with some becoming effective in future years, as far out as "the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2014". Your Trust Fund will prepare and distribute notice of these changes by mail, and we'll keep updating our website to reflect the changes. That makes it more important than ever to keep your address updated with our office. If you need to make an address change you can download a "Change of Address Form" by clicking here or give us a call at one of the numbers listed below.

Keep your eye on the mailbox!

In the meantime, we're here to assist you with any of your health coverage questions at the following locations and phone numbers:

Southwest Administrators Inc. - Office Locations
ALHAMBRA OFFICE
1000 South Fremont Avenue, Bldg. A9W/Unit 11
Alhambra, CA 91803
Walk-in Benefit Information Center
Monday through Friday
8:00 A.M.-4:30 P.M.

Health and Welfare Customer Care Center
Monday through Friday
8:10 A.M.  -  4:30 P.M
(877) 350-4792

SAN DIEGO OFFICE
4666 Mission Gorge Place, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92120
Monday through Friday
8:30 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
(Closed for lunch from 12:00 P.M.–1:00 P.M.)
(619) 287-0740

LAS VEGAS OFFICE
2901 El Camino Avenue, Suite 206
Las Vegas, Nevada
Monday through Friday
8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M
(800) 453-1634