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Taking on Rising Health Care Costs
(This article first appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)
By Health Plan Director John Marcotte
As I have previously reported, and as all of us unionists see in our paychecks, the cost of health care is spiraling out of control. Recently, ABC News reported on this issue in a story that both reinforced my outrage at drug company profiteering and broke my heart as a parent. I would like to share some of that information.
A Woman For All Seasons
(This article first appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)
By Retirees Department Director Nancy Olumekor
Dedicated APWU unionist Eleanor G. Bailey passed away on December 12, 2018 at the age of 87. Over the course of her life, Eleanor never stopped fighting and organizing.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap
(This article first appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)
By Research & Education Department Director Joyce B. Robinson
Because women earn less than men, they must work longer for the same amount of pay. In 1996, The National Committee on Pay Equity originated Equal Pay Day to illustrate the gap between men’s and women’s wages and create a symbolic day when women’s earnings “catch up” to men’s earnings from the previous year. This year, Equal Pay Day will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.
New Directions for EAP
(This article first appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)
By Human Relations Director Sue Carney
On Dec. 27, the United States Postal Service awarded a contract to New Directions Behavioral Health to provide Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services to USPS employees and their eligible family and household members. Founded in 1995, the company reports it is one of the fastest growing behavioral health care companies in the industry; providing assistance programs and consulting services to private and public health plans, student organizations, Fortune 100 companies, large and medium employers and labor groups – more than doubling its membership to 16 million members in the last five years.
New Law Streamlines Claims and Appeals
(This article first appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)
Last month, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 finally went into effect after having been signed into law on Aug. 23, 2017. It is said to represent one of the most significant statutory changes expected to benefit veterans in decades.
Reform has been a long-time goal of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its stakeholders; so much so that the VA sponsored an Appeals Summit three years ago, in Mar. 2016. The VA, Congress, veteran service organizations and advocates worked together during the event to design a new appeals system. The law is intended to deliver reform to veterans on the legacy appeals system.
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of many, veterans now have a choice in how unfavorable decisions will be reviewed. Veterans should also realize more timely resolutions of appealed decisions through the new streamlined process.