Lawsuit Rx co-pay cards arriving in mail

The $2 Guild retirees and $5 retired printers prescription co-pay cards are arriving in the mail for the 50 people who will benefit from the successful healthcare lawsuit against the Beacon Journal.  Medical Mutual of Ohio is handling the prescription co-pays.

United Healthcare will handle the AARP Medical Supplement Plan N, which will restore printer and Guild retirees to their retirement-day medical coverage.

Both restored prescription and medical coverage will begin Jan. 1, 2013.

To give you an idea of the savings for the BJ retirees, John Olesky paid $2,857.87 this year under Aetna’s prescription coverage through the BJ, but would have paid $104 under the $2 co-pay, a difference of $2,753.87. 

Much of the cost for Olesky came after he hit the donut hole, when the total prescription cost for the BJ and its retirees  exceeded a specified annual limit. Once in the donut hole, Olesky had to pay 100% of brand-name prescription costs, some of which were in the neighborhood of $300. 

There is no donut hole for retired printers and Guild retirees who won their lawsuit against the BJ.

As for medical costs, Olesky paid $1,285.83 in 2012, but would have paid about $600 under Plan N for a difference of $685.83. 

And this was a down year for Olesky in medical costs. He averaged paying $3,407.78 per year for the 2005-2012 period covered by the reimbursement agreement.

BJ Settlement Administrator Roger Wettmore is handling the reimbursement claims for extra medical and prescription expenses from a $100,000 fund.  If the total exceeds  $100,000, which is not expected, then the reimbursements would be pro-rated. 

Those checks have not been received yet.

Forty-five retired printers and their spouses are eligible. 

They are Dave and Gina White, of Venice, Florida, who began  the lawsuit on behalf of the printers; Sid Sprague, Loveland, Colorado; Hugh and Sharon Downing, The Villages, Florida; Isabel Watson, Naples, Florida; Janice Hogg, Waynesville, North Carolina; Bob and Linda Abbott, Massillon; Russ and Martel Bendel, Wadsworth; Lloyd and Claudine Bigelow, Cuyahoga Falls; Joe Catalano, Akron; Eunice and Bonnie Collins, Copley; John Costello, Akron; Richard and Patricia Fair, Akron; Larnie and Stephanie Greene, Hartville; Dick Gresock, Medina; Marjorie Hanna, Wadsworth; Ed Hanzel, Barberton; Henry and Kathleen Heinbuck, North Canton; Bob Kendall, Berlin Center; Harriet Ledbetter, Canton; Norm and Naomi Mattern, Wellsville; Charles O’Neill, Akron; Denzil Parker, Wadsworth; Fred Pollack, Akron; Francis and Rita Reeves, Akron; Don Reppart, North Canton; Ron Sanderlin, Canton; Cecil and Josephine Santaferro, Akron; Charles Stadelman, Tallmadge; Bob Walker, Medina; Ray and Amaryllis Wolfe, Greentown, and Ruth and Tom West, Rittman.

Five Guild retirees and a spouse are eligible for the settlement, which depended on the wording in retirement letters. 

They are John Olesky, of Tallmadge, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Guild retirees; Dick McBane, Lilburn, Georgia; Harold and Elizabeth Bailey, Kent; and Don Roese, Cuyahoga Falls.

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