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Retiree Guardian — 2011 Issue 1 1 Oregon-Washington Edition

“To preserve and protect the pension and benefits that we earned.” — AUSWR Mission

2011 Issue 1

Newsletter of AUSWR —Representing Retirees of U S WEST, Qwest and their predecessor companies

www.uswestretiree.org www.qwestretiree.org

INSIDEINSIDEINSIDE Page 2 —AUSWR Officers & Newsletter Editors

Page 3 —Group Life Insur‐ance update; PEC Milestones

Page 4 —Guarding Your Benefits;

‘Retiree Voice’ Photo

Page 5 —Retiree Advocates

Page 6 —Merger On Track

Page 7—CenturyLink Plans Regional Organization

Plan in Qwest area

Page 8—Healthcare Timeline

Page 9 —Medicare Changes for 2011

Page 10—Protect Pensions —NRLN Action Alert

Page 11‐12 —AUSWR goes to Washington, DC to Congress

Page 13—NRLN Report on 2010 Actions & 2011 Outlook

Page 14‐15 —How to Contact Your Members of Congress —Ask for Their Support

PEC President’s Appeal I want to begin by thanking those who have given so generously to your PEC organization in 2010. Some of you made multiple donations, and a special thanks to you. But, your organiza‐tion does need your con‐tinuing support. The bills are starting to roll in. Please check your mail‐ing label for your last do‐nation date. If you made a donation in late December or January it may not be reflected on the current mailing label, but be assured that the check is in the bank. If you have not donated in 2010, please seriously consider sending a donation. We sent out over 3,000 newsletters every quar‐ter in 2010. The average number of donations each quarter was about 13%. As you can see we have many people who are receiving the news‐letter, but they are not helping in paying for the cost to send the Guardian newsletter. Nor are they donating to the cost of litigation (Curtis Kennedy fighting for us), the

website, and other costs to run the organization. And keep in mind none of the PEC Officers or Board Mem‐bers receive money for the work they do on behalf of PEC. So, if you have never sent a contribution or have not sent one for over a year, I am asking you to do so now. PEC does not have dues, as do most organiza‐tions. We do this work on your con t r ibu t ions . Every year we use your donations to cover the cost of our annual member‐

ship meetings. In 2011 our Washington meeting will be on May 21, 2011, (please see the colored flyer insert). The Oregon meeting will be October 8, 2011, in Salem. A flyer will be included in our next news‐letter. I look forward to seeing you at the membership meetings this year!

ALL the best and NEVER GIVE UP!

__Judy

Judy Stenberg, Oregon‐

Washington PEC President

& NRLN


AUSWR President’s Message

2011 AUSWR Officers President Mimi Hull (Colorado) Treasurer Roger Sanger (Arizona) Secretary Eve Mary Verde (Utah)

Litigation Attorney Curtis L Kennedy Retiree Guardian Regional Editor: Kitty Kennedy (Arizona)

2011 Board of Directors and State Leaders: Arizona President Kitty Kennedy tel 520‐883‐8272 Email: [email protected] Colo/Wyo President Hazel Floyd tel. 303‐455‐1535 Email: [email protected] New Mexico President Irene Chavira tel. 505 352‐6666 Email: [email protected] IA/MN/NE/ND/SD Chair Mary Ann Neuman tel. 763‐535‐3865 Email: [email protected] OR/WA President Judy Stenberg tel. 425‐746‐5248 Email: [email protected] UT/ID/MT Chair Donnetta Mitchell tel. 801‐269‐9997 Email: [email protected]

Retiree Advocate Ombudsman Jim Heinze (Colorado)

Retiree Guardian Staff AUSWR Regional and Arizona Editor: Kitty Kennedy Tel: 520‐883‐8272 / cell 520‐444‐6617 Email: [email protected]

Colo/Wyo/New Mexico Editor: Carol Wilson

Tel: 303–985‐8279

Email: [email protected] Utah/Idaho/Montana Editor: Susan Johnson

Tel: 801‐963‐6220 Email: [email protected] Oregon/ Washington Editor: Gary White Tel: 253‐952‐4612 Email: [email protected] IA/MN/NE/ND/SD Editor: Jerry Miller

Tel: 763‐424‐3524 Email: [email protected]

Barbara Wilcox, AUSWR Colo/Wyo, authors health care articles for retirees. Email your questions to: [email protected]

Letters to the Editor: The Retiree Guardian welcomes your questions and comments. Please send them to Kitty Kennedy, AUSWR Regional Editor, PO Box 22483, Tucson, AZ 85734‐2483, or email: AUSWR‐[email protected]. Your questions will be answered by the ‘best voice.’

Retirees often ask me, “What’s the latest on the merger?” “Is CenturyLink going to make changes to retiree benefits or concession services?” Have you met with Cen‐turyLink leaders to discuss retiree issues?” These questions are the ‘hot’ ones from those of you throughout our state organiza‐tions. I continue to stay in close contact with Qwest executives who remain committed to arranging meetings between AUSWR leaders and CenturyLink executives. The focus of both companies right now is of course on the merger. But I am assured that we are not forgotten. I promise you that our AUSWR team will work with CenturyLink. As our meetings with CenturyLink do occur, I will be sure to share our discussions of retiree concerns with you.

Mimi Hull AUSWR President

Copyright – Fair Use - Fair Use Notice The Retiree Guardian occasionally reprints copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues to our members. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U S Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is available without profit.

For more information go to: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html


Federal Appeals Court Agrees to Hear Group Life Insurance Case

Curtis L. Kennedy, AUSWR Litigation Attorney, is scheduled to present oral argument representing retirees in the Kerber v. Qwest Group Life Insurance Plan case in the Tenth Cir‐cuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at approximately 11:00 AM. Kennedy filed the retirees’ appellate brief in October 2010 requesting a hearing —an oral argument — stating the reason for the re‐quest was “to be able to clear up any factual misunderstandings by the appellate judges and to answer any questions the three judges may have.” The last legal brief was filed in early December, 2010. Kennedy will appear before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals judges in Denver to put forth the major

claim for the benefit of ALL retirees that Qwest is forbidden from reducing retirees' Basic Life Coverage benefits below the minimum levels set forth in the Master Plan Document's rules. “While we agree that Qwest has the right to re‐duce [life insurance] benefits for all workers and all retirees, we contend the Basic Life Coverage benefits for retirees cannot be reduced below the minimum amounts established by the rules appearing on Appendix 7 of the Master Plan Document, “ Kennedy stated to AUSWR retirees. An appellate court decision is expected during late spring.

To stay informed about the Group Life Insurance case, go to our website: www.uswestretiree.org/legal2.htm . Or contact your state organization to be added to member emails.

Curtis L. Kennedy AUSWR Litigation Attorney

OREGON Albrich, Rita, J. (Lancaster), Dec. 11, 2010, Portland, 80 Banasky, Maurilian Anne, Dec. 21, 2010, Portland, 95 Blair, Patricia L. (Fagan), Dec. 28, 2010, Portland, 70 Bloomgarden, Norman “Norm,” Jan 7, 2011, Portland, 82 Bodin, Barbara Annette, Dec. 5, 2011, Portland, 73 Buschert, William A., “Bill”, Jan. 6, 2011, Portland, 82 Foreman, Marian, Dec. 19, 2010, Portland, 78 Gritten, Leon E., “Lee”, Nov. 22, 2010, Prineville, 85 Grove, Robert S. Sr., Dec. 3, 2010, Portland, 81 Haines, G. Ilene, Nov. 17, 2010, Eugene, 87 Harrison, John E., Dec. 16, 2010, Portland, 81 Kiefaber‐Pearson, Jerry, Nov. 16, 2010, Portland, 85 Mulkey, Althea O., Nov. 1, 2010, Portland, 92 Paul, Arthur Frederick, Dec. 8, 2010, Portland, 79 Payne, James, Nov. 30, 2010, Cott Grove, 88 Purkhiser, Ross E., Oct. 7, 2010, Portland, 88 Robustelli, John, Jan. 10, 2011, Portland, 60 Warn, Mary Elizabeth (Turner), Dec. 17, 2010, Portland, 84 Watkins, Robert W., Dec. 1, 2010, 89 Workman, Dick, Nov. 22, 2010, Bandon

WASHINGTON Aaring, John M. Dec. 13, 2010, Lynnwood, 91 Brink, Frances Alice (Harvey, Aug. 17, 2010, Centralia, 84

Casey, William F. “Bill” Dec. 17, 2010, Seattle, 91 Claboe, Carolin L., Aug. 5, 2006, Seattle, 70 Cress, Daniel L., Dec. 23, 2010, Spokane, 58 DePoe, Shirley Jean, Dec. 27, 2010, Tacoma, 85 Drobnack, Margaret, Jan. 24, 2011, Tacoma, 90 Fremont, Patrick, Dec. 28, 2010, Tacoma, 51 Gardner, Ivy, Dec. 27, 2010, Bellingham, 92 Lewis, Evelyn Irene, “Evie” Dec. 2, 2010, Bellevue, 86 Haberman, LaRene B., Dec. 7, 2010, Spokane, 93 Hathaway, Robert Edwin, Nov. 9, 2010, Seattle, 92 Holland, C. E. “Bud” Dec. 22, 2010, Olympia, 84 Hosier, Steven James, Nov. 6, 2010, Seattle, 64 Judy, Eugene Stephen, Dec. 9, 2010, Olympia, 86 Marshall, Corrine Louise (Gregg), June 12, 2010, Seattle, 94 Mills, Dean Robert, Jan 16, 2011, Olympia, 67 McCall, E. J. (Bud), Dec. 14, 2010, Sequim, 87 McClees, Arvelle Day (Freeman), Dec. 17,2010, Bellevue, 64 Nichols, Rita, Nov. 1, 2010, Goldendale, 84 Ojurovich, Joseph, Jan, 2, 2011, Rosyln, 77 Owens, Judy Kay, Dec. 8, 2010, Spokane, 69 Pearce, Linda M., Dec. 2, 2010, Seattle, 62 Schimanski, Theodore O., June 16, 2010, Kennewick, 92 Toy, Thomas, Dec. 29, 2010, Seattle, 88 Trotter, Jo Ann Marie, Dec. 3, 2010, Tacoma, 73 Woodruff, William (Bill), Dec. 5, 2010, Tacoma, 82

PEC milestones Announcements of retirements and deaths previously reported here were provided by the Qwest Pioneers who received the information quarterly from Qwest Communications. Regrettably, due to privacy issues, Qwest no longer releases death and retirement listings. Please send obituary information including name, age, city, to:

Gary White, PEC Editor, email: [email protected]


ADVOCACY: Guarding Our Benefits

The first Retiree Advocates were known as the ‘Retiree Voice’ —and these are the folks who all made it happen.

In the last issue of the Retiree Guardian, Jim Heinze, AUSWR Retiree Advocate Ombudsman, told the story of how our Retiree Advocate program started. Below is an early photo of those who created our outreach network for retirees when they need additional answers and someone to advocate for them.

Front Row (L to R): Vicki Champ, Oregon; Helen Brandenburg, Iowa; Chris Shortt, US WEST (USW); Margot O'Dell, USW; Lois Neimi, Minnesota; Barbara Brown, Oregon; Jill Sanford, USW;

Back Row (L to R): Tom Dameron, USW; John Silver‐nail, South Dakota; Jim Shaw, Iowa; Tom Overton, Colorado; Ada Bork, Nebraska; Harry Grand‐strom, Washing‐ton; Carey Mac‐donald, USW; Dick Johnson, Utah; Michelle Todd Mahoney, USW; Jim Heinze, Colo‐rado; Howard Rickman, Oregon; Stephen Holder, USW

Jim Heinze, AUSWR Retiree Advocate Ombuds‐man, reports on current efforts to maintain an open dialogue with Qwest Human Resources staff to help retirees with pension and benefit questions. Jim’s recent report was directed especially to those Post‐1990 Retirees who asked:

“I just received a note from Qwest with a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) 2011 Plan Year in the mail. This notice indicated that Qwest is changing the 2011 Health Care Caps for all Management Post‐1990 Retirees. How can Qwest do this after the 2011 plan benefit materials went out and said something else?”

Jim’s response:

“…a notice dated December 2010 that is being sent out to Management post‐90 retirees regarding the Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) for the 2011 Plan Year [has] to do with an explanation and listing of

the previously enacted ‘caps’ applied by Qwest at the 2006 expected cost levels. There is not a change in the level of the cap itself, but a change in the structure listing of the elements of the cap to match the tiers that are administered by Hewitt [new Qwest healthcare adminis‐trator].

“For example, under the tiers administered by ING [former Qwest healthcare administrator], the cap for a Medicare eligible retiree and a Medicare eligible spouse was listed as $290/month for Medical plus $40/month for Dental. The new Hewitt tiers will reflect caps of $145/month for Eligible Medicare Retiree for Medical; $145/month for Eligible Medicare Spouse for Medical; plus $20/month each for Dental. Thus, the same total of $330 will apply, and this is the case for all types of Post‐90 re‐tirees.” If you have questions about the notice, please contact your state Retiree Advocate (see page 5).


Some pre‐1991 retirees and their surviving spouses were greatly alarmed when they were told that their healthcare coverage was ‘terminated’ at the end of 2010. Others failed to receive their Part B reimbursement. Healthcare records transitions at Qwest at the end of the year caused these errors –and a temporary loss of benefits.

Jim Heinze, AUSWR Retiree Advocate Om‐budsman, was notified of the records transitions problems by his contacts at Qwest Human Re‐sources. He worked with Qwest to ensure all bene‐fits were appropriately reinstated. For those of you who subscribe to your local state email, you proba‐bly received a message from Jim telling you about the problems and the fixes:

“State Street read 12/31/2010 as a termination date, and then failed to reinstate on 1/1/2011. Because of this 178 pre‐1991 retirees did not get their Medicare part B reimbursement. Ap‐

proximately 300 pre‐1991 retirees did not have their deductions taken.

“The Medicare reimbursements will be issued January 13, 2011. Some retirees are having the checks sent overnight to them. Hewitt [the contract company for Qwest healthcare bene‐fits management] will not be doubling the de‐ductions in February, but will contact the im‐pacted retirees and make arrangements for the January deduction to be paid. “United Healthcare has been notified of the problem and will get a list of names to have re‐instated January 13, 2011. “

If you are experiencing healthcare coverage problems —and the Qwest Service Center has failed to resolve them for you, contact your state Retiree Advocate – as listed below.

Pre-91 Retiree Healthcare ‘Fixes’

►If you are unable to resolve your question after contact with the Qwest Service Center,

contact your state Retiree

Advocate.

If you have questions about your benefits, contact the Qwest Service Center….800‐729‐7526 Press Option 2, then select the appropriate options. To put your question or claim in writing, send to the:

Qwest Service Center, 950—17th St., Box 46, Denver, CO 80202 The address for the Qwest Benefit Office is: Qwest Benefits, 1801 California St. 45th floor, Denver, CO 80202

Retiree Advocates Here To Help YOU!

State Tel. No. Email

ARIZONA: Jim Heinze 303‐442‐1831 [email protected]

COLORADO: Jim Heinze 303‐442‐1831 [email protected]

IDAHO: Shirley Moss 208‐342‐3449 [email protected]

IOWA: Vikki Farrand 605‐332‐3670 [email protected]

MINNESOTA: Barb Hermanson 763‐757‐4985 [email protected]

MONTANA: Shirley Moss 208‐342‐3449 [email protected]

NEBRASKA: Jim Heinze 303‐442‐1831 [email protected]

NEW MEXICO: Cassie Kelley 505‐298‐8666 [email protected]

NO. DAKOTA: Barb Hermanson 763‐757‐4985 [email protected]

OREGON: Jim Haynes 503‐628‐0555 [email protected]

SO. DAKOTA: Vikki Farrand 605‐332‐3670 [email protected]

UTAH: Dick Johnson and 801‐963‐6220 [email protected] Byron Lemmon 801‐295‐4653 [email protected]

WASHINGTON: Shirley Jones 206‐368‐8686 [email protected]

WYOMING: Jim Heinze 303‐442‐1831 [email protected]


Merger on Track to Close in Early 2011 As of Sept. 30, 2010, CenturyLink in 33 states served approximately 2.4 million broadband customers, 6.6 million access lines and 588,000 satellite video subscribers. At that time, Qwest served approximately 2.9 million broadband customers, 9.1 million access lines, 960,000 video subscribers and more than one million wireless customers. Combined they will serve a 37‐state area. The merged companies will create a robust 180,000‐route‐mile national fiber network which will in‐crease the combined companyʹs scale and enable the delivery of a diverse mix of service and product offer‐ings.

Source: Forbes On‐line and CenturyLink at http://news.centurylink.com/index.php?s=43&item=88

State

Qwest Century Link

Retail Access Lines *

Retail Access Lines*

AZ 1,457,280 0 Approved—$70 million in broadband over 5 years; resolution of retail, wholesale issues, regular integration updates and reports

CO 1,527,319 76,900 Approved —$70 million in broadband over 5 years; resolution of retail, wholesale issues, regular integration updates and reports

IA 594,570 1,500 Approved —$25 million in broadband over next 5 years

ID ? ? Extracted no investment pledges because it lacks the regulatory leverage; local phone service is “price deregulated”

MN 1,068,799 143,600 Agreement —$50 million in broadband over 5 years; no changes to lines leased to competing phone companies for 2 years.

MT 202,719 49,800 Approved —$10 million in broadband over 5 years ND ? ? Pending NE 193,586 17,500 Approved —$10 million in broadband over 5 years NM ? ? Pending

OR 667,700 109,100 Agreement —$40 million in broadband over 5 years; freeze basic residen‐tial landline rates for 2‐1/2 years

SD ? ? Pending UT 601,199 0 Approved —$25million in broadband over 5 years

WA 1,297,470 200,000 Agreement —$80 million in broadband over 5 years; freeze basic residen‐tial landline rates for 2‐1/2 years

WY ? ? pending

Totals 7,610,642 598,400 Will be estimated 17 million lines in 37 when added to existing Cen‐turyLink states

* Number of Retail Access Lines in Qwest territory as of Sept 2010—includes landlines, broadband and wireless.

CenturyLink and Qwest also have agreements with Integra Telecom, Cox Communications and other competitive local exchange carriers, and the U.S. Department of Defense in Arizona, Colorado and Utah. In October, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) agreed that the merger is in the public interest. Shareholders from both companies approved the merger in August. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission cleared the transaction in July after determining there were no antitrust concerns. Below is the status of the merger negotiations in the Qwest‐served states.

CenturyLink and Qwest maintain a website to announce the latest news on the merger: www.centurylinkqwestmerger.com/index.php


CenturyLink Regional Organization Plans For those retirees whose memories date back to 1984 —also known as ‘divestiture’ or the breakup of AT&T into regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) —the administration model announced by CenturyLink for its post‐merger organization will seem reminiscent and somewhat eerily familiar.

The takeover deal by CenturyLink of Qwest is ex‐pected to close in the first half of 2011, and at that time, the combined company will operate in 37 states organized into a six‐region structure, each region led by a regional president.

Presidents of each region will be responsible for revenue, customer retention, customer satisfaction and service delivery throughout several local mar‐kets within those regions. Each local market will be led by a vice president/general manager responsible for financial and operational performance. Cen‐turyLink said the structure puts decision‐making closer to the customers, and it reflects the organiza‐tional philosophy the company has used as it has grown. Midwest Region: President: Duane Ring, currently president of CenturyLinkʹs Northeast Region. Headquarters: Minneapolis. States: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Da‐kota, South Dakota, Wisconsin. John Stanoch cur‐rent president in Minnesota and North Dakota, Max Phillips current president of Iowa and South Dakota, and Rex Fisher current president of Nebraska all announced they will leave after the merger.

Mountain Region: President: Kenny Wyatt, cur‐rently president of CenturyLinkʹs South Central Re‐gion. Headquarters: Denver. States: Colorado, Mon‐tana, Utah, Wyoming. Dave Gibson current Mon‐tana president will stay in a role to be announced. Jerry Fenn, current Utah president will become vice president for regional policy and regulatory affairs. Chuck Ward current Colorado president and Mike Ceballos current Wyoming president chose to leave.

Northwest Region: President: Brian Stading, cur‐rently vice president of network operations and en‐gineering for Qwest. Headquarters: Seattle. States: California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington. Jim Schmit current Idaho president will stay in a role to be an‐nounced. Kirk Nelson current Washington president and Judy Peppler current president in Oregon chose to leave.

Southwest Region: President: Terry Beeler, cur‐rently president of CenturyLinkʹs Western Region Headquarters: Phoenix. States: Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada. Jim Campbell, current Qwest Arizona president, will become a vice president for regula‐tory and legislative affairs. Lauretta Armenta current Qwest New Mexico president will stay in a role to be announced.

Eastern Region: President: Todd Schafer, currently president of CenturyLinkʹs Mid‐Atlantic Region Headquarters: Wake Forest, N.C. States: Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia.

Southern Region: President: Dana Chase, currently president of CenturyLinkʹs Southern Region Headquarters: Orlando. States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas

With the exception of Stading leading the Northwest Region, the new regional leadership choices empha‐size executives already employed by CenturyLink. The new structure does change the location of some existing CenturyLink regional bases. The Midwest set‐up, for example, shifts the regional headquarters from LaCrosse, Wis., to Minneapolis, one of Qwest’s current major markets. The structure also appears to further de‐emphasize the former Embarq headquar‐ters office in Kansas City, MO. The complete organ‐izational picture may not be finalized for several months.

Source: Forbes and The Kansas City Business Journal.


Health Care Reform Timeline This timeline shows some of the events contained in The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2010. Included are the events mentioned in the ‘Medicare Changes for 2011’ article on the next page.

•Tax on “Cadillac” plans.

•Threshold increased for itemizing medical ex-pense deductions for age 65 and over.

•New 3.8% Investment Income Tax for those earning $200,000 and above. •Medicare taxes increased. •Employer tax deduction for Medicare D subsidy eliminated. •Threshold increased for itemizing medical expense deductions for age under 65.

•Medicare benefits added.

•10% Medicare bonus for primary care doctors and general surgeons.

•Medicare Advantage subsidy phased

•Patient's Bill of Rights, effective for all EXCEPT retiree-only insurance plan-years starting on or after this date.

•Temporary reinsurance of retiree health care ages 55-64.

2 0 1 4

3/23/10 6/1/10 9/23/10 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 And Beyond

2 0 1 6

• Became Law

2 0 1 4

For more information about the health reform law, the following sources are recommended:

• National Association of Insurance Commissioners:

naic.org/index_health_reform_section.htm

• Health Reform GPS – Navigating Implementation: healthreformgps.org/

• Kaiser Family Foundation: healthreform.kff.org/

• AARP: aarp.org/health/health‐care‐reform/

• Alliance for Retired Americans:

retiredamericans.org/issues/health‐care‐reform

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: healthcare.gov/

• The White House: whitehouse.gov/


Health Care Reform: Medicare Changes for 2011

by Barbara Wilcox, AUSWR CO/WY Send your questions for future articles to me at:

Email: [email protected]

(Remember: Health benefits are guaranteed for Pre‐1991 and ERO Retirees). Q. What changes happened in Medicare at the first of the year? A. As shown in the timeline (See facing page) there were three basic changes to Medicare as of 1/1/2011 that have potential impact for Qwest Medicare‐eligible retir‐ees.

New Medicare Benefits

Q. What benefits were added to Medicare this year? A. Two services were added to the list of preventive services, yearly wellness exams and HIV screening. Fur‐thermore, all 21 preventive services covered by Medicare are now free of charge, i.e. with no co‐pay or co‐insurance. You can find the list on page 45 of your 2011 book, Medi‐care & You, sent to you late last year. See the descriptions of the services for details. Q. Were any preventive services removed? A. I could find only one service on the 2010 preven‐tive service list that is not on the 2011 list, EKG screenings. However, EKG’s still are covered under “Tests.” They are subject to the usual 20% co‐insurance rather than being free of charge. Q. Are preventive services also free of charge if I’m on a Medicare Advantage plan, such as Kaiser‐Permanente? A. Not necessarily, since the law does not require it. You need to check the details of the plan you are on. Q. Do Medicare Advantage plans have any new coverage in 2011 that Original Medicare does not? A. Yes. The most significant new coverage is that Medicare Advantage plans must have a cap on annual out‐of‐pocket expenses. Some Medicare Advantage plans had an annual cap in the past, but now all must have one. This gives Medicare Advantage plans coverage against catastrophic expenses, something that original Medicare

still does not have. Fortunately, the secondary insurance that Qwest provides for us (through United HealthCare in Colorado) does have annual caps on out‐of‐pocket ex‐penses. Q. What else is new for Medicare Advantage plans in 2011? A. The new requirements are listed at the bottom of page 62 of your 2011 Medicare & You. They include new coverage if you join a clinical research study, and require‐ments that the Medicare Advantage plan not charge more for certain services, such as chemotherapy, than original Medicare charges.

Increased Pay to Some Doctors

Q. Which doctors will receive increased pay for services to Medicare patients? A. Primary care doctors and general surgeons are now receiving a 10% bonus when they see or treat pa‐tients on original Medicare. This is being done to give these key doctors incentive to keep accepting Medicare patients. The 10% bonus will be in place from 2011 through 2015.

Medicare Advantage Subsidy

Q. What changes are being made in the govern‐ment’s subsidy of Medicare Advantage plans? A. The private insurance companies that offer Medi‐care Advantage plans were receiving pay from the federal government that was approximately 13% higher than what it costs the government to provide original Medi‐care. Over the next three years, the payments to Medicare Advantage plans are being gradually decreased until they equal the cost of original Medicare. Q. Does this mean that I will lose some bene‐fits if I am in a Medicare Advantage plan? A. That could happen in the future. Most Medicare Advantage plans offer some “perks,” such a vision care and health club memberships, that you don’t get on origi‐nal Medicare. If the companies offering these plans cannot afford to continue these “perks” under the lower govern‐ment subsidies, then they may stop offering some or all of them. Only time will tell. I suggest that you take the time when open enrollment comes around to check the benefits in the plans you are offered.


National Retiree Legislative Network Action Alert:

Federal Legislation Needed to Protect Pension Plan Assets

by Bill Kadereit, President, National Retiree Legislative Network

How confident are you that your pension plan is secure into the future? Plans aren’t funded much better now than they were before the last stock market tumble. Plans that have better fund‐ing and less shortfall need protections too. So let’s not get lulled to sleep that pensions are safe. The National Retiree Legislative Network’s recent survey of member retirees showed that 45.2% of the those responding believe their for‐mer employer will try to avoid properly funding their pensions. The NRLN urges you to take action either by email or your phone call urging Congress to pass legislation to protect pension plan assets. Here how to do it: 1) To email the NRLN's sample letter (see below) to your members of Congress: go to

www.NRLN.org and ‘click’ on the link in the “Click here to access the NRLN Action Alert and Sample Letter.” Then click on the "Take Action" button. On the next screen, type in your zip code and click "GO" —this will identify your elected representa‐tives and access the sample letter. Be sure to per‐sonalize the letter with your own comments about how important your pension is to you. 2) To make contact by phone, call the Washing‐ton, DC, offices of your members of Congress via the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202‐224‐3121. Give the name of the Representative or Senator you want contact. Tell them your concerns.

Use the information in the sample letter (see below) to urge your lawmaker to support leg‐islation to protect the assets in your pension plan.

(Read more about Pension Asset Protection efforts by NRLN Grassroots members on page 13).

SAMPLE LETTER: Customize it in your words... As your constituent, I hope you agree with me that companies must be prevented from using pen‐sion plan assets for non‐pension expenses, such as lump sum severance payments and paying for execu‐tives' non‐qualified pensions or other deferred compensation. For the past two years, Congress has passed legislation to allow companies to take pension funding relief. It is now time to act to protect the pensions of America's retirees and the assets of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). The National Retiree Legislative Network advocates a legislative proposal on asset preservation that, if enacted, would prevent the growing practice by companies known as "back door reversions" that circumvent the Congressional intent against reverting pension assets for corporate purposes. Plan spon‐sors must not be permitted to use pension assets to make lump sum severance payments unless the plan has a sizeable surplus and is funded at 120% or more, just as the tax laws require for transfers to pay for retiree health costs. I am requesting that you ask a member of your staff to contact Marta Bascom, NRLN Executive Di‐rector, at 703‐863‐9611 or [email protected] to receive a copy of the NRLN's whitepaper on protecting pension plan assets. I want to hear from you that you will co‐sponsor legislation early in this session of Congress to pro‐tect pension plan assets to help ensure the continuation of my retirement income. Legislation to protect pension assets will not increase the budget deficit and it will curtail the number of pension plans that must be taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).


by Mary Ann Neuman, Chair NWBUSWQwest Retiree Association and NRLN VP It wasn’t quite like the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, because neither of us is a member of Congress, but Judy Stenberg and I did go to Washington, DC to visit with newly elected and veteran U. S. Representatives and Senators to tell them about retiree issues. We were invited to par‐ticipate in the 2011 NRLN Leadership Con‐ference held an‐nually in Janu‐ary. Judy Sten‐berg, president of Oregon‐Washington, and I represent AUSWR on the National Retiree Legislative Net‐work (NRLN) Board of Directors. It was the goal of the NRLN Leadership Conference to meet with as many members of Congress as possible ‐‐concentrating on members of key committees that effect retirees. Specifically we wanted to meet with members who served on these committees: Senate HELP (Health, Educa‐tion, Labor and Pensions), House Education and Work Force, Judiciary, Finance, Commerce, Bank‐ruptcy, etc. The 42 attendees who came from 12 NRLN‐member retiree associations plus another three at‐large members made over 61 visits to Congressional offices. Bill Kadereit, NRLN President, reviewed the NRLN accomplishments of the past year. Other

speakers were Marta Bascom, NRLN Executive Di‐rector, and Michael Calabrese, NRLN Legislative Advisor, who live in Washington and maintain our retiree presence on Capitol Hill. Each spoke to us about how they go about their day‐to‐day lobby‐ing activities for the NRLN. In addition Michael Kreps, Legal Counsel

for Pensions to the Senate H.E.L.P. Com‐mittee that is chaired by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, spoke to us about what we might expect from the 112th Con‐gress on re‐tiree issues. NRLN Grass‐roots Net‐work Vice P r e s i d e n t Bob Martina

spoke about the heart and soul of the NRLN: local and national contacts with our elected representa‐tives about retiree issues. Many AUSWR members who receive Cap‐Wiz Action Alerts do respond and send messages to their members of Congress, but we need a greater response if we are going to be heard. The old adage, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” is 100% true when it comes to getting the ear of those in Washington. Following the Leadership Conference, most of those attending spent a couple of days making visits to Capitol Hill to speak with members of Congress and their staffs.

(..continued on the next page…)

AUSWR Goes To Washington

Mary Ann Neuman, Chair of NWB-USW-Qwest Retiree Associa-tion (left) explains the NRLN legislative agenda to Molly Eliza-beth Conway, Senior Legislative Assistant to Rep. John Kline (MN-02).


(...continued from the previous page…)

I visited the following congressional offices:

• Scott Ferriss: Legislative Assistant for Con‐gressman Rep. Keith Ellison, (MN‐05) who is a member of the House Finan‐cial Services Committee. • Molly Con‐way: Senior Legislative As‐sistant for Rep. John Kline, (MN‐02) who is the new chair of the House Education and Work Force Committee • Rob Gold‐smith: Legisla‐tive Assistant for Congressman Bruce Braley, (IA‐01) who is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Judy met with staff members of the follow‐ing key com‐mittee mem‐bers of Con‐gress: • Sen. Patty Murray (WA), • Sen. Maria C a n t w e l l (WA), • Sen. Jon Kyle (AZ), • Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT), • Sen. Mike Enzi (WY), • Rep. Jay Inslee (WA‐01), • Rep. Jim McDermott (WA‐07), • Rep. Dave Reichert (WA‐08). • Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR‐03), and • Rep. Trent Franks (AZ‐02).

This is the third year that Judy and I have attended the NRLN Leadership Conference. Each year when we visit on the Hill more and more of the congressional offices know who the NRLN is and what we lobby for.

We are greeted cor‐dially and the representatives we meet with are truly inter‐ested in what we have to say. We make it a point to tell them how many constitu‐ents we speak for from the AUSWR asso‐ciations in our 14 states.

We remind them that we retirees are inter‐ested, vocal; write our representatives with fre‐quency, attend Town Hall meetings and most of all

VOTE. Believe me that gets their attention. Look on page 10 to read how YOU can advance the retirees issues we need to make Congress aware of to protect our pensions. Getting the ear of Capi‐tol Hill need

not be just a once a year occurrence. Each and every retiree has the opportunity through The NRLN Grassroots Network to speak up and be heard.

Rep. Dave Reichert (WA-08) (center) meets with (L to R) Romayne Watt, Dwight Rousu, Vice President of Engineering Retirees’ Society (Boeing), Judy Stenberg, President of AUSWR Oregon-Washington and Dave Watt, President of Engineering Retirees Society (Boeing)

(L to R) Judy Stenberg, President of AUSWR Ore-Wash; Joe Dom-browski, President of Lucent Retirees; Bill Kadereit, NRLN President, meet with Bobby Cornett, Legislative Director to Rep. Trent Franks (AZ-02).


Excerpts from report by Bill Kadereit, NRLN President

At the beginning of this new year let’s re‐flect on a few of the NRLN's major actions in 2010 and comment on what is ahead of us in advocating our top legis‐lative initiatives with the new 112th Congress in 2011. But first I want to thank our Grassroots Network Members for your support both in response to our Action Alerts and your Individ‐ual Membership contri‐butions. During the past year, we issued 19 Action Alerts that resulted in 96,454 emails sent from our members to our federal lawmakers. Your 2010 per‐sonal contributions amounted to 70 percent of the NRLN's annual budget. Pension Asset Protection Continues To Be A Top Priority (–see page 10 to know how you can help) A great deal of the NRLN's efforts in 2010—including thousands of emails and phone calls to mem‐bers of Congress from NRLN Grassroots Network mem‐bers—were directed at gaining legislation to prevent companies from using pension plan assets for non‐pension expenses. We came very close to having the NRLN's Pension Asset Protection (PAP) language in‐serted in the House bill on pensions relief, but unfortu‐nately the bill was passed in May without it. Part of the problem of keeping PAP in the bill was that in addition to containing pension plan funding relief for compa‐nies, it included other measures that distracted atten‐tion from our PAP proposal. Although a prime opportunity for PAP was missed, leaders of the NRLN and GM, Chrysler and De‐troit Edison met in early June with Michigan Represen‐tative Sander Levin, at the time Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, to provide him with an un‐derstanding of why we are passionate about PAP. Since that time, Representative Levin has been supportive of the NRLN working with the Ways & Means Committee

staff to explore the poten‐tial for PAP in a stand‐alone bill or as a provision in some other bill. Our experience with PAP in 2010 reinforces the importance of personal, lo‐cal contact with members of Congress by Grassroots Network members and Re‐tiree Associations. We will continue to pursue in 2011 the passage of a bill that carries our PAP proposal. We must prevail. ‐‐You are a vital part of the process. Health Care Legislation President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law

on March 23, 2010. The NRLN neither supports nor op‐poses health care reform legislation. The NRLN sup‐ports provisions to assist retirees and opposes provi‐sions that would be harmful to retirees. For example, in late September, the NRLN dis‐covered that seven benefits/protections in the PPACA were excluded from company‐sponsored, retiree‐only group plans. These include prohibition of pre‐existing condition exclusion or other discrimination based on health status, prohibition on excessive waiting period, no lifetime or annual limits, prohibition on rescissions ‐ can't drop coverage for high claims or health condi‐tions, extension of dependent coverage until age 26, development/utilization of uniform explanation of cov‐erage documents and standardized definitions, bring‐ing down cost of insured health care coverage.

These provisions were effective on September 23, 2010 in all 2011 group health care plans, except for company‐sponsored, retiree‐only plans. Some compa‐nies [including Qwest] have voluntarily provided some or all of the benefits/protections while many firms have not. Denying enacted benefit coverage to retirees simply because retirees are members of retiree‐only plans, where such protections are otherwise afforded to younger active employees or retirees, is discrimina‐tory, unjust and bad policy. The NRLN will continue to lobby in 2011 for retiree top health care legislative ini‐tiatives.

NRLN's 2010 Actions and 2011 Outlook


Washington Members of Congress Senator Patty Murray (D- WA)

DC Phone: 202-224-2621 DC FAX: 202-224-0238 1611 116th Avenue NE, Suite 214, Bellevue, WA 98004

Voice: 425-462-4460 FAX: 425-462-4436

950 Pacific Avenue, Suite 650, Tacoma, WA 98402

Voice: 253-572-3636 FAX: 253-572-9488

2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 903, Everett, WA 98201

Voice: 425-259-6515 FAX: 425-259-7152

10 North Post Street, Suite 600, Spokane, WA 99201

Voice: 509-624-9515 FAX: 509-624-9561

Jackson Federal Building, Suite 2988, 915 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98174

Voice: 206-553-5545 FAX: 206-553-0891

The Marshall House, 1323 Officer's Row, Vancouver, WA 98661

Voice: 360-696-7797 FAX: 360-696-7798

402 East Yakima Ave., Suite 390, Yakima, WA 98901

Voice: 509-453-7462 FAX: 509-453-7731

Senator Maria Cantwell (D- WA) DC Phone: 202-224-3441 DC FAX: 202-228-0514 915 Second Avenue, Suite 3206, Seattle, WA 98174

Voice: 206-220-6400 FAX: 206-220-6404

825 Jadwin Avenue, Suite 205, Richland, WA 99352

Voice: 509-946-8106 FAX: 509-946-6937

2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9B, Everett, WA 98201

Voice: 425-303-0114 FAX: 425-303-8351

U.S. Courthouse, Suite 697, West 920 Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201

Voice: 509-353-2507 FAX: 509-353-2547

Marshall House, 1313 Officers Row, Vancouver, WA 98661

Voice: 360-696-7838 FAX: 360-696-7844


Voice: 253-572-2281 FAX: 253-572-5879

Representative Doc Hastings (R - 04) DC Phone: 202-225-5816 DC FAX: 202-225-3251 2715 Saint Andrews Loop, Suite D, Pasco, WA 99301

Voice: 509-543-9396 FAX: 509-545-1972

402 East Yakima Avenue, Ste 760, Yakima, WA 98901

Voice: 509-452-3243 FAX: 509-452-3438

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R - 05) DC Phone: 202-225-2006 DC FAX: 202-225-3392 555 South Main Street, Colville, WA 99114

Voice: 509-684-3481 FAX: 509-353-2412

29 South Palouse Street, Walla Walla, WA 99362

Voice: 509-529-9358 FAX: 509-353-2412

10 North Post, Suite 625, Spokane, WA 99201

Voice: 509-353-2374 FAX: 509-353-2412

Representative Norm Dicks (D - 06) DC Phone: 202-225-5916 Not available 332 East 5th Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362-3207

Voice: 360-452-3370 FAX: 360-452-3502


Voice: 253-593-6536 FAX: 253-593-6551

345 6th Street, Suite 500, Bremerton, WA 98337

Voice: 360-479-4011 FAX: 360-479-2126

Representative Jim McDermott (D - 07) DC Phone: 202-225-3106 DC FAX: 202-225-6197 1809 7th Avenue, Suite 1212, Seattle, WA 98101-1399

Voice: 206-553-7170 FAX: 206-553-7175

Representative Dave Reichert (R - 08) DC Phone: 202-225-7761 DC FAX: 202-225-4282 2737 78th Avenue SE, Suite 202, Mercer Island, WA 98040

Voice: 206-275-3438 FAX: 206-275-3437

Representative Adam Smith (D - 09) DC Phone: 202-225-8901 DC FAX: 202-225-5893 2209 Pacific Avenue, Suite B, Tacoma, WA 98424

Voice: 253-593-6600 FAX: 253-593-6776 Representative Jay Inslee (D - 01)

DC Phone: 202-225-6311 DC FAX: 202-226-1606 17791 Fjord Drive NE, Door 112, Poulsbo, WA 98370-8481

Voice: 360-598-2342 FAX: 360-598-3650

Shoreline Center, Suite E-800, 18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155-2150

Voice: 206-361-0233 FAX: 206-361-3959

Representative Rick Larsen (D - 02) DC Phone: 202-225-2605 DC FAX: 202-225-4420 Bellingham Towers, Suite 1350, 119 North Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Voice: 360-733-4500 FAX: 360-733-5144

2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9F, Everett, WA 98201

Voice: 425-252-3188 FAX: 425-252-6606

Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R - 03) DC Phone: 202-225-3536 DC FAX: 202-225-3478 750 Anderson Street, Suite B, Vancouver, WA 98661

Voice: 360-695-6292 FAX: 360-695-6197

• To call your Senators or Represen‐tative, use the Washington, DC phone # or look for the local office near you and ask for the staff member who knows retiree issues.

• Refer to the next page for tips on how to make contact with your members of Congress.


Oregon Members of Congress Senator Ron Wyden (D- OR)

DC Phone: 202-224-5244 DC FAX: 202-228-2717 SAC Annex Building, Suite 201, 105 Fir Street, La Grande, OR 97850-2661

Voice: 541-962-7691 FAX: 541-963-0885

707 13th Street SE, Suite 285, Salem, OR 97301-4038

Voice: 503-589-4555 FAX: 503-589-4749

911 NE 11th Avenue, Suite 630, Portland, OR 97232

Voice: 503-326-7525 FAX: 503-326-7528

405 East 8th Avenue, Suite 2020, Eugene, OR 97401

Voice: 541-431-0229 FAX: 541-431-0610

Federal Courthouse, Room 118, 310 West 6th Street, Medford, OR 97501-2768

Voice: 541-858-5122 FAX: 541-858-5126

The Jamison Building, Suite 107, 131 NW Hawthorne Ave., Bend, OR 97701-2957

Voice: 541-330-9142 FAX: 541-330-6266

Senator Jeff Merkley (D- OR) DC Phone: 202-224-3753 DC FAX: 202-228-3997 10 South Bartlett Street, Suite 201, Medford, OR 97501

Voice: 541-608-9102 FAX: Not available

495 State Street, Suite 330, Salem, OR 97301


310 SE Second Street, Suite 105, Pendleton, OR 97801


405 East 8th Avenue, Suite 2010, Eugene, OR 97401

Voice: 541-465-6750 FAX: 541-465-6808

Jamison Building, Suite 208, 131 NW Hawthorne, Bend, OR 97701

Voice: 541-318-1298 FAX: 541-318-1396

One World Trade Center, Suite 1400, 121 SW Salmon Street, Portland, OR 97204

Voice: 503-326-3386 FAX: 503-326-2900

Representative David Wu (D - 01) DC Phone: 202-225-0855 DC FAX: 202-225-9497 620 S.W. Main, Suite 606, Portland, OR 97205-3037

Voice: 800-422-4003 FAX: 503-326-5066

Representative Greg Walden (R - 02) DC Phone: 202-225-6730 DC FAX: 202-225-5774 1211 Washington Avenue, La Grande, OR 97850

Voice: 541-624-2400 FAX: 541-624-2402

1051 NW Bond Street, Suite 400, Bend, OR 97701

Voice: 541-389-4408 FAX: 541-389-4452

843 East Main Street, Suite 400, Medford, OR 97504

Voice: 800-533-3303 FAX: 541-779-0204

Representative Earl Blumenauer (D - 03)

DC Phone: 202-225-4811 DC FAX: 202-225-8941 729 N.E. Oregon Street, Suite 115, Portland, OR 97232

Voice: 503-231-2300 FAX: 503-230-5413

Representative Peter A. DeFazio (D - 04)

DC Phone: 202-225-6416 Not available 612 Southeast Jackson St., Suite 9, Roseburg, OR 97470-4956

Voice: 541-440-3523 FAX: 541-440-3525

125 Central Avenue, Suite 350, Coos Bay, OR 97420-2301

Voice: 541-269-2609 FAX: 541-269-5760

405 East 8th Avenue, #2030, Eugene, OR 97401

Voice: 541-465-6732 FAX: 541-465-6458

Representative Kurt Schrader (D - 05) DC Phone: 202-225-5711 DC FAX: 202-225-5699 621 High Street, Oregon City, OR 97045

Voice: 503-557-1324 FAX: 503-557-1981

How to Call Your Member of Congress: 1. Make a list of what you want to say first. Look at the sample letter on page 10 for ideas. 2. Oregon members of Congress are listed below and Washington members of Congress are on the previous page. Or you can call the U. S. Capitol Switchboard at 2022243121 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress’s office. 3. If you do not find any one to take your call, leave a message with your name and phone number and briefly why you are calling. For example, state that you are a Qwest retiree calling about legislation to protect pension assets. Most likely someone will return your phone call; however, if you do not hear back from the office by the next day, call again the following day. Keep making followup calls until you speak to someone directly. This could take several calls the first time that you make con‐tact ‐‐so don’t get discouraged.

4. When you speak with a person, ask for ask the aide or staff member who works on retiree issues. 5. Tell the staff aide that you are a member of the NRLN, a national retiree organization working to protect the pen‐sions and benefits of retirees. You are asking your mem‐ber of Congress to sponsor legislation to protect pension assets. 6. Request the staff aide to contact Marta Bascom, NRLN Executive Director, at 7038639611 or Email: [email protected] and request a copy of the Pension Asset Protection white paper model legisla‐tion to protect pensions. 7. Get the staff aide’s name and address –an email ad‐dress is best for follow‐up. 8. Thank the person who assisted you. 9. Keep track of your contacts. 10. Next issue of the Retiree Guardian will tell you how to report your contacts to our Grassroots team.


PENSION EQUITY COUNCIL

An Independent Organization of Retired U S WEST/Qwest Employees P. O. Box 1350,

Port Townsend, WA 98368‐0021 Email address: [email protected] Web Page: www.uswestretiree.org or www.qwestretiree.org

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Retiree Guardian — 2011 Issue 1 Oregon—Washington Edition

PEC (Pension Equity Council) MEMBERSHIP/CONTRIBUTION

We are united to preserve and enhance our earned retirement benefits owed to us by Qwest and all predecessor companies. If you would like to become a new member or change existing information, please fill out the following application: NEW MEMBER (___________) CURRENT MEMBER CHANGE (_________________) NAME_________________________________________________________________________________ HOME PHONE (_____)_________________________ ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________________________ CITY_________________________________ STATE ____________ ZIP CODE ___________________ EMAIL ADDRESS _______________________________________________________ Send all Email Updates (______) Mail Newsletter (______) DO NOT SEND newsletter (_______)

I will read it on‐line (www.uswestretiree.org) and save mailing costs

PEC depends on your contributions, because you do not have to pay dues to be a member. Your contributions go in large part to: *pay for this newsletter * pay for legal expenses *pay for membership meetings

Please make your contribution check out to: Pension Equity Council or PEC *Donation $___________

MAIL YOUR APPLICATION / CONTRIBUTION TO THE ADDRESS SHOWN BELOW (OR USE THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE):

PEC & AUSWR —P. O. Box 1350, Port Townsend, WA 98368‐0021

Federal ID #91‐1627000 / WA St Bus ID #601 522 870

NON PROFIT ORG US Postage Paid Tacoma WA Permit No 899

Documents

Newsletter of AUSWR —Representing Retirees of U S WEST ... · PDF filearranging meetings between AUSWR leaders and ... of both companies right now is of course on the ... Grove,