Sent on behalf of D. Taylor
In March 2020, the UNITE HERE HEALTH Board of Trustees approved a 3-month extension of health benefit coverage. This extension covered many members who would have otherwise lost coverage and was made possible by the strong reserves of the Fund that resulted in many years of our Board of Trustees’ careful stewardship of Fund resources as well as from responsible contributing employers. Now that the extension has expired, many members have lost coverage and others will continue to lose coverage over the coming months.
The Board of Trustees has now approved a new program (Super Saver Plan) which allows eligible members to continue their coverage during periods of time for which employers have not agreed to make contributions. Members will contribute 10% of the cost of their Super Saver coverage, and the Fund reserves cover the remaining costs.
For the Aurora administered plan units, the Super Saver Plan begins January 1, 2021, and members who lost coverage on or after June 30, 2020 will be eligible to participate in this Fund-subsidized plan for a period of up to four months.
This letter serves two primary purposes:
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To inform employers that this program, like self-payment and COBRA, is NOT a replacement for employer coverage, and does not substitute for employer coverage. Employers CANNOT pay the 10% premium for their workers instead of providing employer contributions for coverage. They also cannot refund their workers for this program as a replacement for coverage.
- To thank the employers that have committed to new agreements that ensure their workers have affordable coverage as we recover from the pandemic. These employers cannot be put in a position of subsidizing other employers or overseeing the drain on Fund reserves that occurs by treating this coverage as employer insurance while not making contributions to the Fund for coverage.
The Fund office will be sending detailed information about the Super Saver Plan soon.
