February 2012
This seems to be the time of year when all of our allergy issues come to life. The sudden presence of Santa Ana wind kicks up everything and shortly thereafter, the stuffy head and nose syndrome is on you. I only bring this to light as an attempt to knock the perfect California weather. When you are talking to someone in the Midwest who is shivering and hasn’t seen sunlight in a couple of months, you have to give them something.
I’m not sure how aware our membership is to some of our internal workings here at the Relief Association, so let me bend your ear about one of our core tools. Somewhere close to 20 years ago, a program was put into place to streamline and account for all of the information needed to serve our members. From that point in time, the Firemen’s Relief Information Tracking System (FRITS) has evolved into an extremely sophisticated tool. All of your information is stored, sorted, categorized and organized for our constant utilization. This is where I will make the plea….the final product is only as good as what goes into it. If the addresses, phone numbers, emails, beneficiaries etc. are out of date, then the end result is less than desirable. We have been ahead of the curve for many years with such a flexible computer data system. Constant programing and updates keep us remaining on the cutting edge of being technologically proficient. We routinely run reports that give us the ability to analyze benefits and their usage, so we can better serve our membership. Several times each month data is exchanged between our system and the City’s. Whether you are Active or Retired, it matters not. Your eligibility, payroll deductions and addition of dependent or spouse are to name a few of the fields that are examined by the system. The Controller’s office or Pension’s department in return send us their electronic data to upload and verify in FRITS. When the City goes to a new payroll system, you guessed it, we need to do programing changes on our end so we can interface with their new system. While most of you haven’t seen the inner workings of FRITS, I’m sure you can understand the importance.
If you are preparing to undergo a medical procedure, take the time to verify what the exact benefit of your plan is. Although many of us have a lengthy relationship with our doctors, the staff at the doctor’s office isn’t the one who will be footing the out of pocket bill, if there is one. Many times a proactive call from the member has resulted in a favorable outcome and mitigated an otherwise potential costly mistake. It seems there are endless pieces of paper with medical jargon making their way into the mailbox. A letter from “Anthem Blue Cross” that says your procedure is deemed “Medically Necessary”, does not mean that the procedure is an approved benefit on the plan. There is language on this same piece of paper directing you to “Verify benefits with your Plan”. If you had some sort of Dental issue needing surgery, it may be medically necessary, yet the plan excludes almost all Dental issues with a few exceptions. While I can assure you that your Fire Relief Medical Plan has very few exclusions when compared to the rest of the industry, there are some. The only way to know this for sure would be review your Summary Plan Description or even better to make a call to us. While we utilize Blue Cross for review, our Fire Relief Medical plan is what determines the level of benefit. Hence, it will always be in your best interest to reach out with a phone call. Not only will this eliminate any uncertainty, it will allow us to assist you at the highest level possible.
We have cultivated quite a few relationships over the past few years with some of our community partners. Many have been extremely generous to the Relief Association and our Widows, Orphans and Disabled Firemen’s Fund. While our membership is the core donor to our cause, it is great to see the impact we have on the citizens of our surroundings. It is only because of the efforts and class one presentation of membership that we continue to reap the benefits of these relationships. The YNOT Church is one of those local partners we have been fortunate enough to be a recipient of consistent donations.
Respectfully,
John E. Jacobsen
President@lafra.org
(323) 259-5200