New York City District Council of Carpenters (“NYCDCC”) Welfare Fund Coverage for Medicare-Eligible Retirees: Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”)

September 15, 2020

The Welfare Fund covers Medicare-Eligible Retirees who qualify for the Fund’s retiree coverage through UnitedHealthcare (“UHC”) and Non-Medicare-Eligible Retirees who qualify for the Fund’s retiree coverage through Empire BlueCross BlueShield (“Empire”). For UHC coverage, you and your Medicare-Eligible dependents must (1) notify the Welfare Fund that you and/or your dependents are Medicare-Eligible, (2) enroll in Medicare Parts A and B on the earliest date possible, and (3) pay the Medicare Part B premium. Failure to do so will make you ineligible for any retiree coverage under the Welfare Fund (either through Empire or UHC) for a period of time and could have other consequences, including making you financially responsible for reimbursing the Welfare Fund for claims paid while you or your dependents were incorrectly covered by Empire (rather than UHC), and for paying your providers out-of-pocket for claims recouped by the Fund once it becomes aware of your Medicare eligibility. Depending on your claims, this amount may be very significant. We cannot emphasize enough that, unless you are working in Covered Employment and your Welfare Fund coverage is due to bank hours, or you are covered by your spouse’s employment-based group health plan, you and your dependents must enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B as soon as you become eligible for such coverage.

To help you understand this process further, the Fund Office has prepared Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) that address a wide variety of topics related to Medicare-Eligible coverage. To view these FAQs, please click HERE.

If you have further questions about the Medicare enrollment process and your responsibilities concerning continued NYCDCC Welfare Fund coverage, please contact our Member Services Department at (800) 529-FUND (3863).