December 15, 2006 

Mr. Fred Brown, Chair
Health Benefits Trust
ASEA/AFSCME Local 52
P.O. Box 5434
Spokane, WA 99205

RE: Covering the costs of ASEA women's preventative health care

Mr. Brown,

This letter is on behalf of ASEA women in every Health Plan. We shall address several key points at this time.

During the recent union sponsored Health Fairs in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks, several members of the ASEA Women's Committee spoke with Colleen Savoie, Benefits Account Executive of Alaska USA Insurance Brokers. Mz Savoie said that the ASEA Health Trust is considering including more preventive health care in the Benefit Plan, and that this is a good time to share ideas and concerns with the Health Trust Board for their review and discussion for inclusion.

The recent Union Health Fairs in Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks had volunteers from each participating union on location to assist union members and members of the general public to get their services. Several discrepancies were observed at each location.

1)  A health test for men, PSA, was offered for $25.00. This is a reduced rate for a preventive screening test for men.

2)  There was no reduced rate screening test available for women. After paying the same fee as men for blood tests, women could get a blood test specific for them, but we have no further details for comparison analysis.

3)  Not all participating unions charged their members in good standing for the health fair services.

4)  The general public who were not members of a participating union paid the same dollar amount for those tests as did ASEA members in good standing so there was no perceived benefit to our membership.

5)  Flu shots were no charge to members, the public did have to pay for those. However, in some instances, the dependants under the age of 18 were charged $25.00 for each flu shot which is a higher fee than most other clinics charge.

We would appreciate the Health Trust Board work to make the health fair offerings less expensive for ASEA members or even at no cost, as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers did for their members; and that preventative testing specifically for women be made available at those times as well.

The current Women's Committee recommends to the Health Trust Board that pelvic and breast examinations, laboratory cultures, and the attendant office visits be covered annually or when recommended by a physician, and that it be part of the Health Trust Benefit Plan.

This request is almost identical with Resolution 34 submitted and passed by the ASEA Delegation at the 2004 ASEA Biennial Convention. Your response letter dated May 16, 2005 explained what the plan covered, stated that the Trust had already discussed adding more preventive and/or wellness care, agreed to continue to consider adding the benefit in the future, and that the telephone poll showed 57% of those polled at that time were opposed to adding annual preventive exams.

We come to you now and say that the future is now and it is time to consider, discuss, and implement more preventive and/or wellness care for ASEA women. Our union sisters know that the plan pays for a limited visit for a pap smear. This needs to be adjusted. A woman has an annual preventive visit which includes a pap smear, breast exam, abdominal exam, eye, ear, nose and throat exam, and an opportunity for her to discuss her personal concerns with her physician. Women calendar this event annually and it is just as unforgettable as Christmas or her birthday, although with less joyful anticipation.

There are broad discrepancies in what is and is not paid for. We need some guidance for better understanding of this problem so that we can alleviate the financial suffering of women trying to stay healthy so that they can continue to live, care for their families, and to work. Is this a code issue? My physician can charge for a Well Woman visit, but then you would not pay. Instead he has to detail each service on his bill. We are available to help find a solution through further discussion, another member poll or whatever will make a positive change for the ASEA membership.

This also begs the question, when does emerging technology cross the threshold from experimental procedure to become a procedure covered by the Health Trust Benefits Plan? For instance, if a woman's pap smear is not normal and her physician recommends an HPV test, will that be covered? This test for the Human Papillomavirus is relatively new, it's cost unknown, and is NOT recommended for every slightly abnormal pap smear.

As you can see here, these concerns and questions have not abated over the years. The Women's Committee is here as a conduit between our ASEA union sisters and the Health Trust. This position is not meant to be adversarial, it is meant to be a bridge to a solution.  We are here to serve our membership just as the Health Trust serves the people.

On behalf of the Women's Committee and contributing ASEA members, thank you for your consideration of these issues and opening a productive dialogue. Please provide us with your written response prior to the next Executive Board meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Nadine Lefebvre, Acting Chair
Women's Issues Committee
ASEA/AFSCME Local 52