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Reimbursement checks for Medicare Part B premiums go in the mail next week to some 41,000 United Steelworker retirees and spouses who lost health care coverage in the bankruptcies of four steel companies.
The payments are being made by an innovative trust fund, the Mittal Steel USW Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA), set up to help retirees and spouses of the former Bethlehem, LTV, Acme Metals and Georgetown Steel companies.
The checks will reimburse the full amount of Medicare Part B premiums paid during the first six months of 2006. In most cases, the checks total $531 per individual or $1,062 per couple.
“This benefit reflects the USW’s continuing commitment to represent the interests of retirees who were abandoned by their former employers and betrayed by the bankruptcy courts,” USW President Leo W. Gerard said.
The checks will be mailed over several days next week, but it is anticipated that all checks should be delivered by Dec. 15.
Retirees who have questions about applying for the benefit or who have not received their checks by Dec. 15 are urged to call the trust’s administrative office at 1 (877) 474-8322.
The VEBA trust was established in 2002 through negotiations between the United Steelworkers and International Steel Group (ISG), which has since been acquired by Mittal Steel USA.
The VEBA is funded by contributions from Mittal, based on company earnings and steel tonnage. Benefits are jointly determined by the USW and Mittal, depending on funds available and the needs of eligible retirees.
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STEELWORKERS ORG. OF ACTIVE RETIREES
