Insurance - HL 187 (1)

 RE-Published Action Alert concerning the HCTC:

Action Alert 

on Behalf of the Voluntary Benefit Trust for Airline Retirees

 

October 23, 2013

 

Dear Mark,

As many of you know, the HCTC program is scheduled to end at the end of 2013. The Voluntary Benefit Trust for Airline Retirees which provides insurance for many of our members has asked us to pass the following message encouraging you to contact your Congress Person, urging them to renew the HCTC program.

 

The HCTC program has been a tremendous benefit to many of our retirees, and even if you have not used the program please take the time to contact Congress on behalf of the many retirees who are relying on it to provide reasonable heath care.

 

Please read the message below and take action now!

 

Will Buergey, Chairman, DP3, Inc.

 

--------------------

 

From: Cathy Cone [mailto:cathy.cone@coneinsurance.com]
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 5:53 PM
Subject: WE NEED YOUR HELP!

 

Dear HCTC Plan Participants, Families and Friends,

 

We need your help NOW!  Please send this information out to the mailing list and others that maybe eligible for the Health Coverage Tax Credit program.  See this attached spreadsheet of the Congress People that are critical decision makers in Washington for the HCTC and could support legislation to extend the program.

 

What needs to happen?

 

We need your help in reaching out to members of Congress, asking them to act to reauthorize the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) that is set to expire on December 31, 2013 unless Congress takes action to extend or permanently reauthorize this very important program.  As you know, the HCTC currently allows for a 72.5% subsidy for Trade Affected workers along with Retirees that have lost their pensions to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation(PBGC) and their families. 

 

The current subsidy is set to expire December 31, 2013 and Retirees enrolled in the HCTC plans, either through a group plan like the Voluntary Benefit Trust for Airline Retirees, the Steel Retiree VEBA Trust and the Auto Retiree VEBA Trust or another group plan as well as those enrolled in State Plans will be required to apply for subsidy assistance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

 

Why Action is necessary?

 

As you are probably aware, for most, it is difficult, if not impossible, to apply for the subsidies that may be available beginning on January 01, 2014 through the ACA due to the problems associated with the enrollment process through the ACA website.  Families across the country currently enrolled in the HCTC program, with less than 60 days to get enrolled and be confident that current HCTC plan participants and their families will  have access to healthcare in place for 2014 must act NOW!  As you know, HCTC eligible participants are already verified as eligible to receive these subsidies through the IRS and the PBGC data process, it simply makes good sense to reauthorize this HCTC program for at least 2014 while the ACA continues to eliminate the bugs and "glitches" in their computer systems that are currently prohibiting Retirees from applying for subsidies they may be eligible for under the ACA; subsidies that are necessary in order for the Retirees and their families that have lost/had their pensions reduced through the PBGC to be able to afford the cost of healthcare for 2014!. 

 

Solution for 2014

 

It is not acceptable that Retirees and their families should be left in limbo for months as to whether they will have affordable Healthcare insurance available to them and their families on January 01, 2014 since due to the implementation of the ACA, their current plans will be terminated due to the loss of the HCTC subsidy on December 31, 2013.   Unfortunately, the insurance providers they are currently enrolled with, while willing to offer HCTC programs for 2014 as long as a subsidy is available, are not willing to offer insurance to plan participates without this very important subsidy,causing Retirees and their families to be dropped from their healthcare coverage for 2014 without the HCTC being reauthorized. 

 

Action Required by you and your family and friends:

 

We need each of you to do the following:

(1)  Put together a letter, in your own words, describing your particular situation, and how important it is to you and your family to have access to healthcare

(2)  The hardship the elimination of the HCTC will be on you and your family

(3)  What it has meant to your family to have the HCTC program and the fact that while you have already been a victim of unfunded promises and you will soon become a victim of  broken promises as to the availability of affordable healthcare for 2014! 

(4)  Reauthorization is needed for at least 2014, so that you will have the confidence that your family will have access to affordable healthcare insurance for 2014 until these exchanges are up and running in all states across the country.  Waiting to get an exchange in some states up and running in  March of April is not an option for families that need insurance on January 01, 2014!  Action is necessary today to ensure healthcare needs are met for January 01. 2014!  

(5)  Tell them that as members of Congress, they have the capability to reauthorize this program and you are counting on them to work with other members of Congress to assist you in getting this HCTC program reauthorized for 2014 as soon as possible.

(6)  Include this fact in your letter

a.  As part of the recent Debt Limit agreement reached by Congress, one of the requirements pertaining to the Affordable Care Act was that people eligible for subsidies must have those subsidies verified as eligible to receive subsidies.  The HCTC program today already has a process in place that verifies the eligibility of HCTC eligible participants to receive a subsidy, through a stringent IRS/HCTC/PBGC process. Therefore, the HCTC program meets that requirement and should be reauthorized for 2014 without delay!

 

Please take the time to not only (1)write your letter, (2) fax the letter and (3) follow it with a call to EACH office listed on this spreadsheet of the Senators and Congressmen that are critical decision makers in Washington regarding this program, regardless of whether they are in your own district or not. 

 

This will require you to take some time to do, but it is critical to the success of the push to get this program reauthorized!  You need to not only ask your family members to help, but please ask your friends and neighbors to participate as well.  We are working with other groups to spread the word and we need you to begin today doing your part to lobby for this reauthorization of the HCTC in 2014!

 

Thanks for your help in this important process!  If we all do our part, we can make the difference in getting the HCTC program reauthorized for 2014! 

 

Best Regards,

Cathy Cone

Cone Insurance Group

cathy.cone@coneinsurance.com   

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