by Al Horan, CRA's Benefits Chairperson
Benefits Committee comes to the aid of Gulf Coast retirees
Well, we're almost there. You asked and we are delivering. It's a reality, on February 15th Charlie Rhoads announced that CRA is sponsoring dental coverage for its Members through MetLife. The first step was to conduct surveys in Houston and Pittsburgh to determine your level of interest in the MetLife Plans. We're happy to say that both surveys have been completed and we're just waiting for the results. If the survey results are as expected MetLife will be mailing to you shortly further information about the plans as well as offering you enrollment in one of their two plans. We will keep you posted on the progress. Just a reminder, if you have any questions about the MetLife Dental Plans please direct them to me and not Chevron, as this is not a Chevron sponsored dental plan.
We know that for many of you who are receiving monthly Chevron pensions it's been awhile since you last received cost-of-living increases. Both we and Chevron understand and appreciate your concerns. This subject continually receives high priority in our meetings and discussions with Chevron representatives. This topic will be discussed and brought before the governing body of the CRA at its annual meeting in May. We fully expect CRA will endorse and make another formal request to Chevron's senior management for increases. We can understand your anxiety but please try to bear with us a bit longer.
In our last issue of the Benefits Corner we mentioned that we would be developing templates and questions and answers to help you better understand your Chevron Benefits. It is the objective of the Benefits Committee to provide you with the tools that will empower you to better understand the Chevron Benefits Plans and try to simplify the process of obtaining benefits under these plans. In this connection we are enclosing a series of questions and answers which are intended to help you better understand the plans. We have also prepared a guide that will ideally allow you to access your benefits more quickly and efficiently. Lastly, we have prepared a health summary sheet that may be helpful to you when asked for your medical history by your medical care provider. Because of space limitations we are unable to include the guide and summary in this issue of Encore. However, we intend to make them available in the future. In the interim if you would like to receive a copy of the guide and/or the summary please send me an email. My contact information is shown below.
Please note if you request a copy of the health summary sheet it is merely a sample form that is intended to be a tool that may be of assistance to you in completing medical care provider forms, etc. Also, it could be of value to a treating physician especially in an emergency. It's not intended to be comprehensive nor is it intended to replace any forms furnished by your medical provider. It's strictly illustrative and you should be guided accordingly.
Lastly, just a reminder that your Benefits Committee stands ready to assist you with individual issues you may encounter regarding your eligibility, participation in and payment of claims under each of Chevron's Benefits Plans. Our contact information is as follows:
- Al Horan, Caltex: E-Mail: awhoran@verizon.net, Phone: 972-964-1787
- Virginia Benfield, Texaco: E-Mail: vbenfield@comcast.net, Phone: 281-558-3807
- Linda Bulla, Texaco: E-Mail: jo2nlin3a@earthlink.net, Phone: 615-832-1046
- Bill Dodge, Chevron/Gulf:E-Mail: wndodge@sbcglobal.net, Phone: 512-996-8202
- Herb Farrington, Unocal: E-Mail: herbf76@msn.com, Phone: 714-904-5825
- Richard Watkins, Unocal: E-Mail: dwatkins@nctv.com, Phone: 903-451-3266
04/08