Fund Info

New employer health care rates approved

The Trustees of the AI plan met on June 25 and 26 and set new health care rates for the coming year. For those with Plans A & C, the new rate will be increased by 8.8%. According to Directing Business Rep Don Crosatto, this was due to several key factors, but the most important were that Kaiser raised our rate by 13%, and our Indemnity Plan had to pay out for a $5 million liver transplant, pushing the plan’s reinsurance rate up, by 60%. Crosatto explains that for every $100 we paid in in 2023, the insurance company was paying $679.

“Ultimately, that was unsustainable, and we knew our rates would increase substantially.”

The rate for Kaiser-only plans will increase by 5%. “The reason the rate increase is less than the actual expenses is that we maintain healthy reserves that are invested and grow each year,” Crosatto explains. “Kaiser has been hitting all of their group customers with rate increases of 10-20%. After getting no increases at all for four years and a modest increase last year, it’s not surprising that the expenses are starting to catch up with us,” he says.

“We’ve spent some of our reserves every year to mitigate the cost, but you can’t spend the reserves all down because you might suddenly get a massive increase.”

Annual physical required to lower deductible in 2025 under Blue Cross Self-Funded Plan options

In 2023, the Board of Trustees instituted an annual physical exam requirement for those on the self-funded medical plans offered by the Automotive Industries Welfare Plan in order to receive a lower calendar-year deductible.

The deductible amounts are now in place for the 2024 calendar year but participants and their spouse or domestic partner (if applicable), who get an annual physical exam anytime in 2024 will be moved to the lower deductible level in the 2025 calendar year along with all dependent children. The physical exam can be taken any time before December 31, 2024 and requires the Plan’s certification form to be sent to the Trust Fund Office.

Physical Exam certification forms are available to download at the Trust Fund website at www. aitrustfunds.org. A separate form must be submitted for you and your spouse or domestic partner (if applicable) to reduce your deductible for the 2025 calendar year.

If you have questions about what current deductible level you are in, please contact the Trust Fund Office at 800-635-3105 or by email at AISupport@hsba.com.

Value Based Program

There are wide treatment cost variations for elective outpatient procedures and other types of surgeries. The Value Based Pricing Program was implemented on January 1, 2015 to keep out-ofpocket costs down to a minimum.

Under the Value Based Program, the following elective surgeries have a dollar cap limitation when performed in a hospital rather than an Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC).

Colonoscopy = $1,500

Arthroscopy = $6,000

Cataract Surgery = $2,000

(The above pricing only pertains to surgeries performed in a hospital setting regardless of the hospital being in-network or out-of-network).

Hip and Knee Replacement surgeries will be limited to a maximum payment of $30,000 for a single hip joint replacement or a single knee joint replacement. The maximum includes all inpatient facility costs. Professional fees (surgeon or anesthesia) are paid under a separate benefit.

If you are going to have any of the above procedures performed in the near future, please contact the Trust Fund Office for a list of the Value Based Facilities or you can look up the facilities directly at www.anthem.com.

Pension Plan searching for former participants

The Automotive Industries Pension Plan currently has about 2,000 participants who are entitled to receive a pension payment under the Plan but have not made application for their money. If you know someone who used to work in the industry during the 1970’s or 1980’s, is over age 65, and is not receiving a pension payment from the Trust Fund, they could be missing out on a monthly payment from the Plan. Have them contact the Trust Fund Office at 800-635-3105 for a review of their work history to see if they are eligible.