Think before you switch health care plans: advice from a sage, Paul Boyer

To all CORE members and other STRS retirees:

I would like to give you my personal opinion on selecting your H C plan for 2006.

I want to caution you very sincerely to be very sure you are doing the right thing in changing to a different plan from that which you have been in. One of our Allen county members sent me an email that he was going to leave the Aetna plan for another and I replied to him to be sure he knew what he was doing. He replied that after studying it more thoroughly, he and his wife decided that they were better off in their current Aetna plan that what they were looking at to change.

My wife and I have been retired for 20 years and we have been in the Aetna Plus Plan all those years. We have been very satisfied with it and have never changed. It is our personal opinion that it is the best for us.

Again, these are my personal opinions, based upon our experience and the years that I have spent working with CORE and attending the various committee and board meetings of STRS. I am not trying to force my opinion on anyone.

I simply say to you as I did our local member, Before you change your plan, make very sure that you know what you are doing. If you have been satisfied with your current plan, stick with it. In that case you do not need to anything. As long as you do not contact STRS, you will remain in the same plan you are now in.

I am so happy for what STRS has done for next year with our prescription costs - lowering the generic co-pay and keeping the other tier prices the same as this year. Thank you, STRS Board.

End of communication.

Paul Boyer,
"CORE" of the CORE