President's Message
Our MISSION:
“To maintain a point of contact and information for telephone retirees on health care and other bene it issues.”
__ AUSWR CO/WY Newsletter of the retirees of CenturyLink, Qwest, U S WEST 2017 Issue 2 and their predecessor companies. www.AUSWR.org
representation to pursue the maintenance of President’s Message earned benefits. The Retiree Advocacy program, headed by Jim Heinze, helps many of our by John Rommelfanger, retirees resolve their various benefit issues. Colorado/Wyoming The information and assistance provided in the Co-President area of health care by Barbara Wilcox and Jim Heinze have aided scores of our people. The Board of Directors of the AUSWR CO/WY Our present financial situation indicates that association has been funds would be depleted sometime in 2018. At discussing the future of the one point, it was thought that dissolution might organization for some time occur as early as 2016, and membership dues now. were reduced in past years, anticipating this. Due to a continuing decline in membership and Reassessment in 2016 led to raising dues to $10 revenues, planning is now taking place for this year to assure continuation through 2017. dissolution of the AUSWR CO/WY organization, We feel that the mission statement of the board sometime in 2018. has been faithfully discharged. All of this is The process requires us to consider the making decisions for the future difficult. Retiree components of the association: the The board will be making decisions regarding Guardian newsletter, the Medicare courses in the date of dissolution in the coming months, the Denver metro area, the Retiree Advocacy and will keep you advised. If any member is program, the website services and information, willing to step forward and be part of this the legal services we underwrite and the process, please contact me. financial condition of the organization. Plans are under way to conduct our next annual We also must consider the age of board meeting on October 7, 2017. It will again be a members, and the inability to fill the board luncheon meeting. The board has determined positions from the membership. that a charge of $12.50 will be required from Our AUSWR CO/WY organization has aged each person to help cover the luncheon cost. gracefully and provided substantial support to Details about the meeting will be sent to you in the membership through the dissemination of September. information in quarterly newsletters and weekly emails managed by Bill Alsdorf. Your thoughts and responses to this message are welcomed by me and other members of the AUSWR CO/WY organization has, over the board. (List of board member contacts on page years, provided its share of significant legal 11).
— INSIDE THIS EDITION — 2 NRLN about ACA repeal 7 Retiree Guardian team 10 Remembering those we lost... 3 Medicare SHIP ‘voices’ at risk 8 NRLN Lobbying Congress 11 Colorado/Wyoming officers & reps Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 1 Colorado—Wyoming Edition 4 Blizzard of ‘49 and Vail medals 9 Retiree Advocates 12 Medicare 101 classes—Denver area What’s important to preserve for seniors in ACA
By Bill Kadereit, President, the amount the government pays for ‘catastrophic’ National Retiree Legislative Network drug coverage. According to the AARP, since the enactment of the ACA in 2010, more than 11.8 As most Americans know, on March 24, 2017, U. S. million Medicare bene iciaries have saved more than $26.8 billion on prescription drugs. House of Representatives’ Speaker Paul Ryan went to the White House to inform President Trump that a • Rewarding performance by health plans, doctors vote would not take place on the American Health Care and other medical-care providers when they Act (AHCA) to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act improve health outcomes. The budget that supports the Department of Health and Human (ACA, also known as Obamacare) because there were Services Innovation Center’s trials to improve not enough votes to pass it. health outcomes and quality are not included in During the week before the scheduled vote, 30 leaders the proposed AHCA repeal/replace legislation. of the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN), its • Retaining the 0.9% Medicare Part A tax on retiree associations and chapters were in Washington, earnings over $200,000. Enacting the proposed D.C., meeting with Representatives, Senators and AHCA would have repealed this tax, leading to a members of their staffs, lobbying for retirement issues, loss of $117 billion in revenue by 2026. The including preserving ACA features bene icial to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and seniors. Loren Fritz represented the NWB-USW-Qwest the Congressional Budget Of ice estimated the Retiree Association. repeal would speed up the Medicare Trust Fund’s insolvency dates from between 2026 and 2028 When the current ACA law was originally debated in (under current ACA law), to 2024 or 2025. After Congress in 2010, the NRLN did not take a position on the insolvency date, the Medicare Trust Fund the entire bill, but supported provisions in the bill would only be able to pay for 87 per cent of favorable to retirees, and opposed provisions Medicare Part A (mostly hospital) bene its. unfavorable to retirees. Likewise, the NRLN advocates • Preserve the ACA’s reduction of 14 per cent on Capitol Hill in favor of preserving what has been subsides to Medicare Advantage Plans . Repeal good for Medicare bene iciaries. of these current ACA subsidies reduction provision would deplete the Medicare Trust Fund even It is expected that at some point in the future, faster. President Trump or the House or the Senate will make other attempts to repeal/replace the ACA. When that happens, the NRLN will lobby for the preservation of When the current ACA law was enacted, the NRLN the following: believed there was a major omission for Medicare bene iciaries. While the ACA provided provisions for • Medicare bene iciaries’ preventive screenings such as mammography, prostate screenings, catastrophic coverage (limits on out-of-pocket colonoscopies and more. Most of these services are expenses) for Americans under age 65, it was not covered 100 per cent by Medicare. We know of provided for seniors age 65 and older. situations where serious health conditions were The NRLN continues to urge Congress to retain the identi ied early through the annual wellness exam. provisions for catastrophic coverage provided by the Not only has early detection of health problems ACA, but also to include Americans age 65 and older. saved lives, but also reduced the cost of care to Medicare. The NRLN will continue to keep an ‘eye out’ for • Closing the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole,’ which potential legislation to repeal/replace the ACA, and maintain our efforts to preserve what is bene icial in is the difference between what a bene iciary has to the law for America’s seniors. pay for after reaching the initial coverage limit and
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 2 Colorado—Wyoming Edition Medicare SHIP ‘voices’ at risk
Barbara Wilcox, AUSWR CO/ (me included) had no reason to educate themselves about WY Health Care Specialist, the details of how Medicare worked, because the Email: [email protected] connection between Medicare and our Company health care insurance had been working smoothly for years. Have you ever gone to a Medicare 101 class? Have you Suddenly, Post-90 management retirees (and spouses) on discussed your Medicare insurance choices with a SHIP Medicare had to make decisions about what insurance (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) counselor? was needed to replace the supplemental and prescription Have you called your state’s SHIP of ice to get help drug insurance that the Company had been providing. understanding what Medicare does and doesn’t cover? CenturyLink created Health Reimbursement Accounts As many CenturyLink retirees know, state SHIP of ices (HRA) to help us pay for the insurance we needed. But, are present throughout the country, staffed by volunteers there are many options of market-place insurance, and who are dedicated to educating people about Medicare, many insurance companies offering Medicare-related and helping them ind their way through the Medicare insurance. Many of us were lailing around, trying to system and the related insurance programs. educate ourselves and make good decisions.
I recently learned from the Medicare Q. How do I call my member of I learned about SHIP from Jean Waid, Rights Center that funding for SHIP is in Congress and my Senators? another CenturyLink retiree, who is a A. Dial 202202----224224224224----31213121 to reach the SHIP volunteer counselor in Grand danger of being cut —or eliminated. The Capitol switchboard. You can reach budget that the White House sent to both Senators and Representatives Junction, Colorado. Jean was busy Congress in March contains no money through this number. You will need to helping affected retirees in her area, and for the SHIP grants to the states. This is give your zip code. she suggested that I should contact the an alarming development. Q. How do I find the SHIP office SHIP program in Denver, where I live. I where I live? did, and the Denver SHIP immediately SHIP’s mission is “to empower, educate, A. Each state has a toll-free number offered Medicare 101 classes for and assist Medicare-eligible individuals, you can call to get connected with your CenturyLink retirees in the Denver area. their families and caregivers through local SHIP. This phone number is From this, I learned how much SHIP can objective outreach, counseling and printed on the back of the Medicare & help us. I became a SHIP volunteer. I You book that you receive every year in training to make informed health received excellent training from insurance decisions that optimize access the fall. Or, you can go to Medicare.gov on the Internet. Look on Medicare and SHIP personnel. I receive to care and bene its.” Medicare updates each year. I am the right-hand side of the home page Each state does this by recruiting and for “Find someone to talk to,” and find pleased to be able to help people on training volunteers. The volunteers talk your state in the pull-down menu. Medicare, whether CenturyLink retirees Some states have different names for with clients in one-on-one counseling or others. their SHIP programs. For example, in sessions, teach classes and speak to Colorado it’s called SHIP, but in Many CenturyLink retirees attend community groups. All services are free Wyoming it’s called WSHIP. classes when they are approaching their of charge. 65 th birthday. I counsel innumerable
The SHIP program began in 2009. The retirees who contact me about their federal government gives grants to the individual problems or questions about states, each of which administers its own Medicare. I write articles about Medicare program. The annual SHIP budget for all for the Retiree Guardian. The training states over the last three years was $52 and regular updates I receive from SHIP million — a drop in the bucket when you enable me and other SHIP volunteers to consider the size of the federal budget. In 2015, SHIP do all of these helpful things for you . helped seven million people with their Medicare, which You can help the effort to keep the SHIP program going by means it cost the federal government about $7.50 for calling your members of Congress and Senators. Let each person. Imagine what it would cost if the them know you have bene ited from SHIP, and you want government had to hire people to perform this service! the program to continue.
My personal journey that led me to SHIP began in the fall of 2011, when CenturyLink announced that Post-90 Sources for this article include HHS.gov and management retirees would no longer have company blog.medicarerights.org/presidents-budget-dramatically-cut- health insurance to supplement Medicare. These retirees funding- medicare-counseling/
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 3 Colorado—Wyoming Edition Don Warsavage’s ‘Person-to-Person’
Heroes: the blizzard of ’49, Vail medals — and the ‘snow buggy’
Don Warsavage, Phone: 303-776-7782 acts,” aka ‘heroism,’ in the blizzard of 1949 in Email: [email protected] Cheyenne, Wyoming. Back in the ‘40s, millions of people settled down in For this story, you need some background. First, let me their living rooms at 7:00 p.m. each Monday night to tell you about Vail medals, which were awarded for listen to the popular Bell Telephone Hour, a national outstanding service. And let me quote from the NBC radio program dedicated to live classical music. It Cambridge Library, which tracked all medals awarded usually started with a monologue advertising from 1920 on: telephone service. On February 21, 1949, however, the program’s unusual opening started as follows: The Vail Medal awards were made as a memorial to Announcer: “Down from the North it screamed . . . one Theodore X. Vail, an early president of the American of the worst blizzards in the history of the West . . . Telephone and Telegraph tons of snow across roads and highways . . . residents Company, who was recognized of Cheyenne, Wyoming, were warned to stay in their as one of the world’s great homes. Calls of distress looded the telephone lines.” business leaders because of his leadership in the expansion Woman (anxiously): “. . . Operator, our little Michael of the Bell System and the is awfully sick. We can’t bring our baby to town. What development of the art of are we going to do?” telephony. Vail medals, Announcer: “For four days and nights, a telephone bronze, silver and gold, were crew took their snow buggy through the wilderness of awarded to members of the Bell snow, cold and howling wind—over ields and telephone organization fences…” to rescue neighbors and strangers who throughout the United States, needed help. for acts of services which conspicuously illustrated ideals That legendary blizzard started Sunday afternoon, of public service. The Vail January 2, 1949. The Wyoming Eagle , on January 5 th , medals were not awarded headlined: “GIANT RESCUE BEGUN FOR 2,000 merely for acts of heroism or MAROONED,” and went on to state “the howling storm spectacular deeds, although lasted for over 60 hours.” The front page featured a noteworthy heroism often characterized the service photo that showed a drift over 10 feet deep in performed, nor as a reward for faithfulness in the downtown Cheyenne, and stated that some drifts prurience of daily tasks, but rather as special outside of town reached over 20 feet deep. recognition of a few of the most conspicuous examples of noteworthy service that were daily challenges among The same day, The Wyoming Tribune, the other telephone employees who perform the characteristics of Cheyenne newspaper, reported that 14 the spirit of service throughout the Bell Telephone intercontinental trains had stalled in the deep snow in System. eastern Wyoming, with passengers on board. On February 6 th , The Wyoming Tribune ran an article Now let me tell you about three men who were headlined: “BLIZZARD UNABLE TO STOP SNOW awarded Vail medals because of their “outstanding (Continued on page 5)
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 4 Colorado—Wyoming Edition (Continued from page 4) leave for work, he saw that there was no way his car BUGGY IN RESCUE MISSIONS.” Four men, three could make it. But, he was needed to help with the telephone company employees and their supervisor, snow buggy, so he donned his winter gear and set out were singled out for their heroic efforts. The article on foot, pushing through the snow for 15 blocks to the highlighted the virtues of the snow buggy, the company garage. telephone company’s machine with a cab mounted on Hough’s partner, Bill Edmunds, a cable splicer, lived in tracks and two skis in front, designed to carry two the same area, but found he couldn’t budge any of the passengers over the snow. doors of his home. He found a window he could open The snow buggy was indeed critical to the rescues and clear the snow. He scrambled through, dropped performed, but the real story is about the men –our into the drift and began his long slog to work. heroes -- who Once Hough and made it all Edmunds got to the happen. Their garage, the snow buggy amazing exploits refused to start. They set were detailed in a about cleaning the memorandum carburetor, the gas line written by J. H. and gas tank. They had Christensen, just inished putting it Wyoming Plant together when the garage Superintendent. phone rang. It was the The following Wyoming State Patrol. story was put An expectant mother together from needed to get to the Christensen’s hospital immediately. memorandum, the They had to leave the Cheyenne regular streets and drive newspapers the snow buggy through mentioned above back yards to get to the and several issues This photo appeared in the Bell Tel Magazine, Spring 1949. We address. They loaded Mr. of The Monitor , a have no way of knowing if these men are our heroes of this story, and Mrs. Hansen into the monthly magazine but it’s very likely that they are Hough, Edmunds and Payne. cab with them, a cozy it published for In any case, this is a — or maybe ‘the’ snow buggy in our story. in the small cab (and not employees by the last time they’d need Mountain States Telephone Company back in the ‘40s to overload the snow buggy). and ‘50s. The four of them, jammed together, started off to the Our heroes’ saga starts Monday, January 3, 1949, hospital. The storm intensi ied, reducing visibility. when the snow descended, and the wind raged on They couldn’t tell where the streets were. They drove Cheyenne and the plains to the East. Hotel rooms, to one side far enough to see a house, tree or buried lobbies and depots illed with stranded travelers. car then veer back the opposite way, using this Employees couldn’t get to work, and once there method, they zigzagged their way to the hospital. Mrs. couldn’t get home. Hansen gave birth to a boy. Rescue successful! Next day, Tuesday, was no better as howling winds and On the way back, the engine on the snow buggy started blinding, heavy snow continued. Enter the telephone coughing and sputtering. They nursed it into a company snow buggy into our story. It was used to Firestone illing station and garage -- the only one open deliver ‘stranded-people’ from danger, but it in the city. They had to remove the drive shaft, clean frequently stalled because the drifts were the carburetor, gas tank and gas line again, then put it overwhelming. all back together. It is easy to believe, as they had When Keith Hough, a combinationman, got ready to (Continued on page 6)
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 5 Colorado—Wyoming Edition (Continued from page 5) Merrill place. taken off their heavy coats, had tools and parts On the way, they encountered stalled vehicles, many scattered all over the loor, that their descriptions of stalled vehicles. In one, they found Richard Bivens. the snow buggy would not have been printable in Bivens excitedly explained that his wife and family either The Tribune or The Eagle. were trapped inside their home about four miles east They got the snow buggy running again, and it was of town, and they had no heat. He was desperate to get used heavily until 11:00 that night. The Wire Chief at back and help them. Biven’s place was on the snow the phone company, C. B. Webb, made an arrangement buggy route to the Merrills, so they loaded Bivens in with the local Cheyenne Fire Chief to house the snow with them. The highway east of town was a buggy in the ire station to keep it ready for possible hodgepodge of scattered, stuck vehicles. Trying to get night-time emergencies. Hough and Edmunds stayed in around a large stranded truck, the snow buggy fell into a local hotel. a barrow pit, taking a half hour to dig out. At 2:00 a.m., Hough’s phone woke him up. The Red Arriving at the Bivens’ ranch, only the snow-covered Cross was on the line. Mrs. Merrill, expecting a baby, roof was visible. Bivens struggled around the house needed hospitalization. She lived more than six miles through the snow, frantically searching for a way in, east of town. when he inally found the top of a window still When Hough reached the ire station, he found that exposed. He yelled to raise his family. They were okay. Edmunds hadn’t been called and was not there. A local Another ‘rescue’ for the snow buggy. Cheyenne ireman volunteered to join Hough. The They left Bivens, and pushed on, still seeking a path to wind was driving at 50 to 70 miles-per-hour; the the Merrills. The ground blizzard was a ierce white- temperature was recorded at 5 below zero. out, hampering visibility. Following the power line The driven snow, ampli ied by the lights of the snow across country, away from the highway, took the snow buggy, made it nearly impossible to see the way ahead. buggy right over fences — and whatever else was They found that by looking up they could make slow buried beneath the snow. They inally reached the progress by following the street lights. Hough used the Merrill Ranch. To take Mrs. Merrill to the hospital in zigzagging method he’d discovered earlier. Cheyenne, which was their mission, they irst had to take the Merrill’s 3-year-old daughter to her At the edge of town, they ran out of street lights and grandfather’s ranch about another mile and a half could not see their way forward at all. They could further to the East. With the little girl on board, they barely make out the telephone line above them, and travelled along the highway, this time discovering they tried following it into the darkness. It was too more and more abandoned cars. dangerous, so they turned back. One vehicle was in a precarious position, teetering over The ire chief told Hough he should get some sleep and the edge of a ditch and half- illed with snow. As the showed him to a bed in the ire house. It was around snow buggy approached, two young men climbed 3:30 am. Hough had barely laid his head on the pillow, awkwardly out the door with their faces hidden when a tow truck pulled up outside. Along with the because their shirts were buttoned over their heads, driver were Mr. and Mrs. Rosenblum. and their hands were covered with several pairs of The tow truck was the only vehicle that could get to socks. Words of gratitude tumbled out of them as they her house, but could not make it to the hospital. Mrs. told their story that they were University of Colorado Rosenblum was in labor. students heading back to school. They had been Hough loaded the two into the snow buggy and trapped in the car for 62 hours. They had emptied zigzagged his way to the hospital. Thirty-two minutes their suitcases, and put on all the clothes they could later their baby was born. ind. Pants on pants, shirts on shirts and so on. They were helped into the snow buggy, and went along to When Hough got back to the ire station, William ‘grandfather Merrill’s ranch.’ Payne, another combinationman, was there to assist, replacing the local ireman. After getting a hot meal at the ranch, the two students
By now, it was light enough to try again to get out to (Continued on page 7)
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 6 Colorado—Wyoming Edition (Sams and Kissick), rode back to pick up Mrs. Merrill Hough, Payne and the snow buggy were not done yet. and take her to the hospital. At the Merrills, the snow Back in Cheyenne, they rescued a man who’d injured buggy now contained Hough, Sams, Kissick and a very his back and couldn’t walk. He was taken to the pregnant Mrs. Merrill, all heading into a more than six- Veterans’ Hospital. Then out to a ranch seven miles mile blizzard. east of town to ind a man with frozen feet. Then on to The journey was slow and treacherous. Within about a another man and his dog, both suffering from mile and a half of town, the snow buggy lurched into a exhaustion. The dog thanked Payne for his efforts by hole. The crunching sound they heard could only mean biting his hand, but the dog was so weak, it did no a broken ski. When they got out and inspected, both damage. skis had broken, disabling the snow buggy, which Remember the little boy, Michael, from the Telephone carried only one spare ski. Hour lead-in at the beginning? The next day the snow After carrying Mrs. Merrill for about two buggy went about two miles from town to blocks, the men found a illing station rescue a little guy named Michael who called the Dutch Mill. Leaving Mrs. Merrill needed medical help. He and his parents and the college students at the Dutch Mill, rode in the snow buggy to the doctor. and knowing that a spare ski for the snow The Wyoming manager, Christensen, in buggy was stored in the telephone the summary of his memorandum, said: company garage, they called and Edmunds “Many times during these trips, blowing answered. He put the spare ski in a snow and zero temperatures seemed to be company truck and made it to within a almost more than one could stand and, mile of the Dutch Mill before being halted due to the poor visibility, the success of by impassably deep snow. each trip was doubtful and the job No other means but for Edmunds to get hazardous.” Christensen pointed out that out of the truck, push through the snow, dragging the at the time of his writing, 11 people in the Cheyenne spare ski behind him. He made it. But no one thought area had been found frozen to death. about tools. Probably for the irst time, a snow-buggy The July 1950 issue of The Monitor reported that ski was replaced using a hand axe – plus pure grit and Mountain States Telephone Company President, F. P. determination. Ogden, in a formal presentation to the applause of The two students stayed in the safety of the Dutch Mill their fellow employees, awarded three silver Vail to await later rescue. Mrs. Merrill, now in the repaired Medals and $500 each to Keith Hough, William Payne, snow buggy, was transferred into the company truck and William Edmunds. Our true heroes of the blizzard with Edmunds who took her for her much-needed of 1949. medical attention. Maybe some of you readers know or knew our heroes,
Regional Retiree Guardian Team: Regional & Colo/Wyo Editor: Kitty Kennedy ( [email protected]) Copy editor: Irene Chavira ([email protected]) Copy editor: Eve Mary Verde ([email protected]) AUSWR COLO/WYO: NWB Qwest—U S WEST Association: Barbara Wilcox ( [email protected]) Clyde Just ([email protected]) John Rommelfanger ([email protected] Jerry Weldon ([email protected]) Don Warsavage ( [email protected]) Cindy Hadsell ([email protected]) Editor: Pat Williams ([email protected])
Copyright - Fair Use Notice: The Retiree Guardian is the newsletter of the AUSWR Colorado/Wyoming and the NWB-U S WEST-Qwest Retirees associations. Copyrighted material is reprinted, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues to our members. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U S Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material presented is available without profit. For more information, go to: Cornell University Legal Information Institute at: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html.
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 7 Colorado—Wyoming Edition Lobbying on Capitol Hill
Bill Kadereit, President > rewarding health plans, doctors and other National Retiree Legislative Network Medical-care providers if they improve health outcomes and quality. In recent • Change the federal bankruptcy code to better years, the protect retirees’ pensions and health-care bene its NRLN held when their former employer declares bankruptcy. its Annual Leadership • Request Conference legislation to in give the PBGC more Washington, authority to D.C., in mid- better protect February. the interests When plans of retirees were made for 2017, the conference was scheduled for when there March 13–15, with the hope of avoiding winter are mergers, weather. But snowstorm “Stella” moved into the acquisitions nation’s capital on Monday night, March 13, ahead of and spin-offs – Tuesday and Wednesday appointments scheduled by particularly in conference attendees on Capitol Hill. the case of Sen. Deb Fischer (NE) with Vern foreign Larson, President, Avaya Retirees Despite the snow, wind, awful traf ic conditions -- and ownership. Chapter, and NRLN President Bill Kadereit. some appointment cancellations, 27 attendees represented you at more than 70 different meetings in On Wednesday, Senate and House of ices. The NRLN retiree association NRLN leaders representing the Avaya Retirees Chapter and chapter leaders lobbied Senators, Representatives, (Avaya is in Chiefs of Staff, Legislative Directors and other staff bankruptcy court), members. DuPont Retirees The NRLN legislative issues they advocated for in the Chapter, National meetings were: Chrysler Retirees • Request passage of bills in the House and Senate to Organization, reduce the cost of prescription drugs by allowing the Lucent Retirees importation of safe and lower-priced drugs from Organization, Canada and other countries that meet the Federal Drug NRLN President Administration’s quality standards and allowing Bill Kadereit and Alyson Parker, Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. NRLN Executive • Retain in the repeal / replacement of the Affordable Care Act, the features that were Director, met with bene icial to Medicare participants, including: two staff members > annual wellness examinations; of the Senate > closing the Medicare Part D “donut hole” Judiciary which is the difference between what a Committee. The bene iciary has to pay for after reaching the Committee has Rep. Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) with jurisdiction over Martha Deahl, President, Arizona initial coverage limit and the amount the Chapter. government pays for the catastrophic drug bankruptcy law coverage; (Continued on page 9)
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 8 Colorado—Wyoming Edition (CenturyLink Annual Enrollment — Continued from page 8) Congressional legal staffs to each of our major legislation. Request for legislation to require pension proposals. plan sponsors to obtain approval from the Pension That said, it takes a strong mental commitment and Bene its Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the Internal repeated advocate visits to gain acceptance for our Revenue Service (IRS) before combining one or more proposals by members of congress. poorly funded pension plans with one or more well- funded pension plans. Associations’ leaders and Chapter leaders, who show
Having appointments on Capitol Hill were leaders from this commitment, deserve a big thanks from us all. seven retiree associations: —Telco/AT&T, — Engineering Retirees Society (Boeing), —Detroit Edison Alliance of Retirees, —EKRA- Kodak Retirees, —National Chrysler Retirement Organization, —Lucent Retirees Organization and —NWB/ Qwest/CenturyLink; and ive NRLN Chapters: —Arizona Chapter, —Avaya Retirees Chapter, —DuPont Retirees Chapter, —Villages (Florida) Chapter and —Washington State Chapter.
We have worked hard to get prescription-drug legislation introduced and we are hopeful these meetings will result in more Representatives and Senators becoming supporters of other NRLN Judy Stenberg (left), Vice President, Pacific and Mountain West Region, legislative proposals. We have added meets with Hannah Vanhoose and Kellin Clark, staff members for statute language ready for use by Senator Jon Tester (MT).
The Retiree Advocate program operates with volunteers who listen to your FIRST.. questions or problems with your bene its and pensions — then they use Call the their knowledge and resources to make contacts to resolve your issues. CENTURYLINK SERVICE CENTER at If you live in: Re ree Advocate: E-mail 800-729-7526 Arizona Ki y Kennedy 520-444-6617 [email protected] RETIREE ADVOCATES Idaho or Montana Shirley Moss 208-342-3449 [email protected] can help you if you have Iowa or Nebraska Gordie Lundy 402-203-2042 [email protected] unresolved New Mexico Cassie Kelley 505-298-8666 [email protected] questions or problems Oregon or Washington Shirley Jones 206-368-8686 sjbenefi[email protected] AFTER you call the Service Center Utah Byron Lemmon 801-295-4653 [email protected]
ALL OTHER STATES: Jim Heinze 303-442-1831 [email protected]
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 9 Colorado—Wyoming Edition Arizona Bliss, Donald A 'Don' (1932 - 2016) We remember ... Robison, E. L. 'Rob' (1925 - 2017) Stokes, Leah Kae Schofield (1932 - 2017) Send information Tilley, James William 'J W' (1921 - 2017) about a member who
Colorado has passed away Baldwin, Michael 'Mike' (1941 - 2017) (please include the Barth, Eugene (1924 - 2017) date and newspaper Bell Jr, Virgil Alexander (1938 - 2017) source of the obituary ) Breece, Agnes Marie 'Aggie' (1931 - 2016) to: Bill Alsdorf at Cox, Ralph Odell (1929 - 2017) Davidson, Michael S (1943 - 2017) [email protected] Doerr, Howard Paul (1929 - 2017) Entwistle, Jane S (1939 - 2016) Fulks, Martha E. Pedot (1927 - 2017) New Mexico Goodsell, Virginia M (1922 - 2017) Brannan, Virginia Heard (1951 - 2017) Gray, Harold 'Lynn' (1930 - 2017) Rubi Jr, Isidro (1940 - 2017) Keate, Terrie Stone (1951 - 2017)
Lowell, Howard Vernon (1935 - 2017) Oregon Roys, Adele Lucille (1937 - 2017) Brennfleck, George and Arlene (1923 - 2016) Wells, Tamyra Jean (1946 - 2017) Lanterman, Jack Robert ‘Bob’ (1925 - 2017) Idaho Matsumoto, Julie Misaye (1953 - 2016) King, Earl Ronald (1931 - 2017) Nickerson, Paul R (1938 - 2017) Lewis, Edward Joseph (1935 - 2017) Wiesinger, Betty J (1923 - 2017) Schindel, Burk A (1924 - 2017) Spence, Iris Faye (1928 - 2017) Utah Starkey, Donald B ( 1924 - 2016) Broadwater, Drew (1952 - 2016) Brollier, Nina T (1940 - 2017) Montana Dutt, Russell E (1927 - 2016) Barker, Richard D (1927 - 2017) Hales, William "Bill" George (1947 - 2017) Beaver, Raymond Louis (1933 - 2017) Hedges, Wayne Dean (1934 - 2017) Boettger, Irving Christian (1922 - 2016) Hiskey, Shirley Broberg (1928 - 2017) Bossell, Ann Lucille 'Lucy' (1930 - 2016) Jensen, Milford L (1930 - 2017) Duncan, Douglas Scott (1959 - 2016) McDonald, Sheila Rae Heath (1953 - 2017) Johnson, Kenneth Fred (1925 - 2016) Tenne, Rolando J (1930 - 2017) Molenda, Peter F (1930 - 2017) Vail, Donald Elmer (1936 - 2017) Nelson, Pansy Lorene (1921 - 2017) O'Brien, Sue Caddy (1945 - 2017) Wyoming Salverson, Eileen Dianne (1939 - 2017) Cuthbertson, Jack (1929 - 2017) Schaffer, Helen (1929 - 2017) Hranchak, Herman (1934 - 2017) Thares, Raymond Duane 'Ray' (1947 - 2016) Marsh, Joan C (1930 - 2017) Wooten, Marguerite 'Maggie' (1937 - 2017) Young, Edith M (1940 - 2017)
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 10 Colorado—Wyoming Edition
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CHECK ONE: New Member: ______Annual renewal: ______( $10. 00 ) Change ______
Last name: ______First name: ______Dual membership: Last name: ______First name: ______Mailing address: ______City: ______State: ______Zip code: ______- ______Phone: ______E-mail: ______
I would like to volunteer in the following areas: ANY U S WEST/Qwest or predecessor company retiree is welcome (you will be contacted —you can check more than one): Area Rep: ______Membership: ______Financial: ______Legislative: ______Media Relations: ______Other ( describe ): ______
I retired from (Name of company): ______Date: ______Spouse retired from (Name of company): ______Date: ______I own CenturyLink stock: Yes: ______No: ______
CHANGES TO ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER OR E-MAIL ADDRESS If you have a change in your name, mailing address, phone number, or e-mail address, please use this form. On the back page of this newsletter, your membership expiration date is included on the mailing address. If your expiration date is near, use this form to submit your annual dues. • IF YOU KNOW of any prospective members who have not yet joined the Association, please provide them with a copy of this Membership Application form, or have them contact John Rommelfanger, Colorado President, at 303-475-8225. A copy of the form also can be printed from our web site at: www.AUSWR.org. • IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION: AUSWR CO/WY is an I.R.S. non-profit, tax-exempt organization. However, dues and donations are NOT DEDUCTIBLE on your personal tax returns. Records are available via written request at P.O. Box 27027, Denver, CO 80227. Board of Directors CO/WY Aurora: Pat Finley Littleton (80223—80225—80227): La Verne Colorado Co-President: John Rommelfanger —303-425-0804 /[email protected] Lanskey 303-726-2520/[email protected] Boulder/Longmont: Littleton (80224—80226—80228): —303-475-8225 / [email protected] Kay Daugaard Tom Spall —303-790-9637 /[email protected] —303-745-0233 / [email protected] Wyoming Co-President: Bob Rucker Broomfield: Judy Campbell Middle Park: Kay Daugaard —307-632-8470 —303-466-5666/[email protected] —303-790-9637 /[email protected] Vice President-Communications Castle Rock/Monument: Charley Heard Parker/Sedalia: John Rommelfanger LaVerne Lanskey—303-726-2520 —303-660-9593 / [email protected] —303-475-8225 / [email protected] [email protected] Colorado Springs: John Pirnat Pueblo/South Park: Tony Juarez Vice President-Membership: Kay Daugaard —303-221-0805/ [email protected] —719-546-6065 / [email protected] — 303-790-9637/ [email protected] Denver East: Ed Arnold South East Colorado: Wesley Colvin Secretary Pat Finley —303-321-7766 / [email protected] —719-384-2436 /[email protected] —303-425-0804 / [email protected] Denver North: Dave Felice Thornton/Brighton: Bill Alsdorf Treasurer-Receipts/Budget: Bill Campbell —303-880-5150 / [email protected] —303-659-4189 / [email protected] —303-988-2800 / [email protected] Denver Southeast: Robert Wiswell Westminster/Wheat Ridge: Alice Peterson Treasurer-Disbursements: Dale Thompson —720-859-7641/ [email protected] —303-424-7609 / [email protected]
—720-550-5278 / [email protected] Denver Southwest: John Pirnat WYOMING AREA REPRESENTATIVES: Health Care Specialist: Barbara Wilcox —303-221-0805/ [email protected] Casper Area: Gary Overturf —303-377-5761 / [email protected] Englewood: Kay Daugaard —303-790-9637 /[email protected] —307-527-9005 / [email protected] Database Manager: Dale Thompson Lander-Riverton: Jim Reddon —720-550-5278/ [email protected] Fort Collins/Loveland: Chuck Rider —970-267-0817 / [email protected] —307-856-6833 / [email protected] E-mail Editor: Bill Alsdorf Cheyenne Area: Dorothy Rhoades —303-659-4189 / [email protected] Fort Morgan: John Jump —970-867-7221 / [email protected] —307-235-4501/ [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Kitty Kennedy Golden: Kay Daugaard —520-444-6617/ [email protected] ARIZONA REPRESENTATIVE: —303-790-9637 /[email protected] CWA/Legislative Rep: Harvey Hoffman Statewide: Kitty Kennedy Grand Junction/Durango: Sue Berndt —303-733-1955 / [email protected] —520-444-6617 / [email protected] —970-263-9008 / [email protected] CO/WY Retiree Advocate: Jim Heinze Greeley: Chuck Rider —303-442-1831 [email protected] —970-267-0817 / [email protected] All other states OR to volunteer Lakewood: Don Hinkley in your area — CONTACT: COLORADO AREA REPS: —303-988-0095 / [email protected] John Rommelfanger —303-475-8225 / Arvada: Betty Moore Littleton (80220—80222): Ed Dinkins —303-794-6625 /[email protected] [email protected] —303-936-7917 /[email protected]
Retiree Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 11 Colorado—Wyoming Edition AUSWR CO/WY NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE P.O. Box 27027 Denver, CO 80227-0027 P A I D
BRIGHTON, CO PERMIT NO. 51
—Change your Home Address? ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED —Or Phone Number? —Or E-mail Address?
PLEASE CHECK THE MAILING LABEL — Let us know of your changes
You can help us save $$$ in return postage if we have your CURRENT mailing address, phone no. & e-mail address.
Contact Dale Thompson 720-550-5278 or Email: [email protected] AUSWR CO/WY PO Box 27027, Denver, CO 80227-0027
Denver-area Medicare ‘101’ Classes CenturyLink’s Monday, April 24, 2017 Thornton, CO 80203 newsletter— 1:30-3:30 PM Thursday, July 20, 2017 http://www.centurylinkbenefits.com/docs/ pdf/001262.pdf Carpenter Recreation Center 10:00 AM-Noon Multi-Purpose Room C CWA Local 7777 11151 Colorado Blvd. 2840 South Vallejo St.
To register, or to ask ques ons about the schedule, please contact Kit Thomte at 303-526-1664, or Email Welcome to Well Connected [email protected] . for Retirees! If you have ques ons about Medicare or how Medicare works with This periodic newsletter CenturyLink benefits, you can con nue to contact Barbara Wilcox, provides updates and insights Email: [email protected]. on managing your CTL The classes are geared towards Post-90 re rees who will be 65 soon or are retirement benefits, plus tips going on Medicare for any other reason, such as being on Social Security for boosting wellness during disability for two years. But, anyone interested in Medicare, and how it interfaces with CenturyLink re ree health benefits, is welcome. The classes retirement. are a collabora on between AUSWR CO/WY and the State Health Insurance We’d love to hear from you! Assistance Program (SHIP), and they are free of charge. CenturyLink Human Send feedback, stories and Resources personnel are o en present to answer ques ons, depending upon theirRetiree availability. Guardian — 2017 Issue 2 Page 12 questions Colorado—Wyoming for this newsletter Edition to