CLEVELAND, September 24 — A four-week “open enrollment” period for BLET members covered by the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan begins on Monday, September 28, 2009.
The open enrollment period allows members to consider the benefit plans they have for themselves and their dependents for the 2010 calendar year. Documents are currently being mailed to all members covered by the plan. Among other things, members will have the option to change benefit plans, add dependents, or opt out of the plan.
Specifically, the open enrollment period will allow members to:
1. Change benefits for 2010;
2. Opt out of benefits for 2010;
3. Change, add or delete information about yourself or your dependents (for example, if there have been changes in your family that are not shown on the form, like marriage, divorce, birth, or a child attending college);
4. Provide dependent Social Security Numbers (SSN) or Medicare Health Insurance Claim Numbers (HICN). (Now required by law)
As long as all of the member””””s dependent””””s Social Security Numbers (and Medicare Health Insurance Claim Numbers, if applicable) are listed as “ON FILE” and all of the other listed information on the form is correct and complete, the members do not need to return the enrollment form if they wish to keep the same benefits for 2010.
The deadline to return the open enrollment forms is Friday, October 23, 2009.
A sample open enrollment form is provided below:
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/2009openenrollment.pdf