AGRE Committee Meeting 2/4/2010

The committee meeting has not been being as well attended as we would like. Bad weather, winter or just complacent, we would like for more people to attend. We would also like more people to attend the 6pm meeting.

We had representatives from AFLAC(insurance) talk about supplemental insurance. This insurance must be taken out before reaching the age of 65. If you take it out before 65 you can keep it past that age.

We discussed some information we had been waiting for regarding our pensions. The years we received were 1999 to 2005.

Roz Torrence relayed a message regarding our Aetna premiums. She said if the money for our premiums is over on active and under on the retiree's, the money is put in whichever one is under for the payment.

January 2010 AGRE Meeting

The January 2010 AGRE meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. We are planning for our new year regarding AGRE.

We will have our next meeting Thursday, February 4, 2010. The committee will continue to meet at 4:45pm and the regular meeting will be at 6:00pm.

AGRE Update -- December 2009

The next AGRE Monthly Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 7, at 6:00 p.m. at 133 Raleigh Road, Oak Ridge, TN.

2009 AGRE Accomplishments

In June 2009, approximately 87 signed letters were collected by AGRE and mailed to Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker; Congressmen Lincoln Davis, John Duncan, and Zach Wamp; Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen; Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Anderson County Mayor Rex Lynch ; DOE Oak Ridge Operations Manager Gerald Boyd, and the DOE Contracting Officer in Cincinnati, Ohio. These letters protested the proposal to move the management of the Grandfathered employees pension and benefits from Oak Ridge to the Portsmouth D&D Project. This effort to “save Tennessee jobs” and keep the management here in Oak Ridge was successful, and the language in the final Portsmouth contract was revised.

In June, AGRE representatives shared a table with CORRE at the Oak Ridge Secret City Festival. This gave AGRE an opportunity to talk with Grandfathered employees and retirees about AGRE objectives and activities.

In July, E-mails from the AGRE e-mail address (which is gfemployee@yahoo.com) were blocked by BJC management to prevent Grandfathered employees from receiving updates and meeting information at work. Apparently BJC realized they could not discriminate against AGRE and in August the block was removed.

Vision enhancements went into effect on July 1 for Grandfathered employees and retirees. BJC communicated these enhancements to employees on July 6, but they did not plan to announce this to the retirees until November in their Open Enrollment Packages. AGRE discussed this issue with BJC HR, and a notice was mailed out to retirees on September 8, 2009.

BJC Human Resources agreed to mail out brochures about joining AGRE and CORRE to all grandfathered retirees. A total of 757 envelopes were stuffed and stamped, then given to BJC to address and mail out. BJC also agreed to include these AGRE and CORRE brochures in future retirement packages. As a result of this mail-out, approximately 100 GF retirees joined CORRE and about 76 responded to AGRE.

BJC issued RFIs for medical provider considerations, which included vision and dental benefits for post-65 retirees. The companies who responded were United Health Care, Aetna, Cigna, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Unfortunately, Aetna was again selected as the medical provider, and no benefits for dental were included for the post-65 retirees. The only plus is that the rates do not increase for 2010 for retirees, although the rates for Y-12 and ORNL retirees are being REDUCED!

AGRE representatives developed an informational display which was placed at the Oak Ridge Public Library during the month of September. In October, the display was placed in the lobby of the Oak Ridge Enrichment Federal Credit Union. In November, it was moved to the Kingston Community Center and then to the Frank Strang Sr. Center in Knoxville in December.

AGRE representatives had a table at the BJC Health and Safety Fair on September 17, 2009 and obtained a total of 31 sign-ups.

An announcement about monthly AGRE meetings was made at the Annual Union Picnic at Roane County Park on September 19.

In early September, AGRE learned that the Benefits Employee Handbook, which is long overdue to be mailed to retirees, was sent to DOE for approval. Unfortunately, retirees still have not received their copies of the handbooks which are supposed to be issued every 5 years, per ERISA guidelines. The last time issued was around 1999.

In September, an AGRE presentation was made by Pete Peterson to the CORRE Board of Directors.

On November 2, AGRE representatives had a display in the lobby at the annual CORRE Meeting. About 250 were in attendance at this annual meeting. Dub Shults gave a good presentation entitled “An Up and Down Year,” which can be found on the CORRE web site (http://www.corre.info/).

In December, BJC Grandfathered post-65 retirees will get half of the Medicare Part D subsidy in a lump sum payment of $210.74 for a single and $421.48 for dual. This is the second year in a row that BJC has shared the subsidy with retirees.

AGRE representatives continue to discuss AGRE objectives and concerns with government representatives, both locally and in Washington, DC; with local DOE representatives; and with BJC Human Resources management.

AGRE Update -- November 2009

The next AGRE Monthly Meeting will be held on Thursday, December 3, at 6:00 p.m. at 133 Raleigh Road, Oak Ridge, TN.

CORRE held their annual meeting on November 2, and several local and state officials were present for this important meeting. AGRE had a display in the lobby and met with retirees prior to the meeting. Dub Shults, CORRE President, gave an informative presentation on the year's progress entitled "An Up and Down Year."

On November 5, BJC began open enrollment for medical and dental benefits and announced that the rates for retirees for 2010 are the same as this year. While no increase was good news, there continues to be concern because the grandfathered retiree medical rates are significantly higher than those at Y-12 and ORNL while benefits are similar:

Pre-65 GF Medical Rate for Dual - $470.45

Pre-65 Y-12/ORNL Medical Rate for Dual - $336.14

Post-65 GF Medical Rate for Dual - $551.12

Post-65 Y-12/ORNL Medical Rate for Dual - $300.00

Also included in the Open Enrollment packages this year was information about walk-in clinics. These clinics, found in several CVS and Walgreen drug stores, may be used rather than the emergency room for illnesses that are not urgent, at a much lower out-of-pocket expense to the retiree.

BJC has agreed to give new retirees the AGRE informational brochure in future retirement packages, along with a letter and information about CORRE.

AGRE representatives have met this month with representatives of our Congressmen and Senators in both Washington, DC and in Oak Ridge, TN. Meetings with DOE representatives are being planned in the near future.

AGRE has put together a display with information about Grandfathered employees and the organization. This display was at the Oak Ridge Library during the month of September, then it was moved to the Enrichment Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in October. The display can be seen at the Kingston Community Center during the month of November.

AGRE Update - October 2009

The CORRE Annual Meeting will be held on Monday, November 2, at 2:00 p.m. at the Heritage Fellowship Church in Oak Ridge. All retirees are urged to attend this important annual meeting. Be sure to look for the AGRE display in the lobby!

The next AGRE Monthly Meeting is Thursday, November 5, at 6:00 p.m. These monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 133 Raleigh Road, Oak Ridge.

Several grandfathered employees stopped by to talk with AGRE representatives Teresa Riggs, Dwight Morrow, and Eva Graves at the BJC Health and Safety Day on September 17. Those who provided contact information will be included on future AGRE distributions.

Pete Peterson gave an AGRE presentation to the CORRE board members at their September monthly meeting. The presentation included details on the formation of AGRE, the primary objectives of the organization, and information on the grandfathered employee pension plan and health and welfare trust. Of particular interest to the CORRE Board members were the high medical premiums that BJC retirees are paying, in comparison to the retiree rates for the X-10 and Y-12 retirees.

BJC is reviewing responses from United Health Care, Aetna, Cigna, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the companies who responded to their Request for Information (RFI). A decision on the medical provider for 2010 should be announced in the near future.

AGRE Actions Committee members are continuing to meet with BJC Human Resources personnel and government officials on ongoing issues regarding grandfathered pension and benefits.

AGRE Update - September 2009

The next Monthly AGRE Meeting is Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 6:00 p.m., 133 Raleigh Road, Oak Ridge.

The Annual CORRE Meeting for retirees is Monday, November 2, 2009 at 2:00 p.m., Heritage Fellowship Church, 121 Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge.

Mercer will be performing a "dependent eligibility audit" in the near future. Notices will be mailed out to employees and retirees which include a form that neds to be completed and returned. Audits of this nature typically show that 3-8% dependents are ineligible.

An AGRE display is at the Oak Ridge Public Library during the month of September. Information is provided about the AGRE organization and its objectives, who is represented, and when and where meetings are held. Upon entering the Library, turn left, then go straight to visit the display.

Concern is growing on the apparent lack of communication from BJC to the Grandfathered retirees. Benefit handbooks were distributed to employees a year ago--but it's been several years since retirees have had up-to-date handbooks. There are no web links or telephone numbers for Grandfathered retirees on the BJC public home page. Vision enhancements that went into effect on July 1 for eligible employees and pre-65 retirees were not communicated to the retirees, resulting in a loss of savings on eyecare products. (Update: VSP information was mailed out by BJC to retirees on 9/8/09.) Life insurance certificates, which were previously provided by MetLife, are not being given to retirees to file with other important papers.

BJC will be completing the evaluation of benefits information received from various companies and making a determination on who will be the benefits provider for 2010. The months of October and November are typically used for open enrollment announcements, information meetings, etc., in preparation for benefits that go into effect on January 1, 2010.

Special presentations are being discussed for future Monthly AGRE Meetings, held the first Thursday of each month. Topics may include financial planning, will preparation, estate planning, etc. Employees and retirees are encourage to send an e-mail to gfemployee@yahoo.com with topics they would be interested in learning about.

AGRE Update -- August 2009

The next AGRE Monthly Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 3, 6:00 p.m., at 133 Raleigh Road, Oak Ridge.

Good News! The gfemployee@yahoo.com e-mail address is no longer being blocked for BJC employees. Thanks to those of you who responded with your home e-mail address during the period that it was blocked. Electronic distribution lists are in the process of being updated.

On 8/4/09, a total of 719 envelopes were mailed to BJC retirees. The envelopes included a recruitment letter and contribution form from CORRE and a brochure from AGRE. To date, about 55 BJC retirees have joined CORRE and approximately 44 have responded to AGRE.

Effective 7/1/09, VSP Vision Care Plan Enhancements became effective for those currently enrolled in BJC's medical/vision plan. The enhancements have been communicated to the active employees, but pre-65 retirees do not yet have this information. The Eye Health Management Program, which focuses on the early treatment and management of both eye and related health conditions, will enhance the current coverage with value-added benefits such as Diabetic Eyecare Program, Laser VisionCare Program, and Low Vision Program. Contact lens wearers will benefit from the flexible plans and enhancement programs to the current Signature Plan. Greater discounts and a covered-in-full benefit for some of the most popular contact lenses provides more coverage than any other vision plan on the market today. These added benefits are at no cost to the company or employee/retiree. Questions related to the VSP Plan may be directed to BJC Benefits Administration at 865-241-1721, or to VSP at 800-877-7195 or visit their web site at http://www.vsp.com/.

BJC issued Requests for Information (RFIs) earlier this year for medical provider considerations. It is our understanding that this will include vision and dental benefits for post-65 retirees, benefits which currently end at age 65. Vender selection and information on rates (to go into effect 1/1/2010) is expected to be shared by late fall.

Pete Peterson will discuss AGRE issues and objectives at the monthly CORRE Board Meeting on Wednesday, September 16, 2 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

AGRE will have a display at the Oak Ridge Library during the month of September. The display cases are on the left, as you walk in the direction of the Children's Library section.