Wonder if they'll get Black Friday off this year, too?

From Donna and Dean Seaman, November 18, 2009

Subject: board meeting

STRS board members and Mr. Nehf:
Today even Goldman Sachs apologized for "past mistakes!" Why doesn't STRS administration and board admit your past mistakes and begin to take steps to repair the massive damage you've done to Ohio's retired teachers.
Why do you not even acknowledge the devastating impact that the $3.4 million in bonuses has had on your constituents and on the STRS investment portfolio! Most of us do not consider $3.4 million as a "drop in the bucket!" Why do you continue to follow past practices which show obvious favoritism to STRS staff over what is due and right for retirees?
It is Ohio's teachers and boards of education who have provided the funds which you are legally and ethically bound to oversee. Yet you do not listen or respond to our frustrations and concerns. You continue to provide STRS employees with "freebies" such as the Black Friday extra holiday which Mr. Nehf tossed in last year (contrary to contract). You consider to dance to your OEA puppeteers.
When will STRS staff cuts be made that have been promised for months?
When will you reinstate the 13th check that was removed even while you were paying, and continue to pay, huge bonuses to investment staff?
And most importantly, when will you respond to us, your frustrated, angry retirees?
Donna Seaman, 2002 retiree
Dean Seaman, 1986 retiree
(These views are our own and do not reflect that of any organization.)

Ryan Holderman to Sandy Knoesel: What plans does STRS have to assist those affected by MM decision?

From Ryan Holderman, November 18, 2009
Subject: Alarmed in southwestern Ohio!

Dear Ms. Knoesel:

I was alarmed to read the article copied below in this morning's "Dayton Daily News". This change will have major impact on retirees living in Butler and Warren counties for whom Atrium Medical Center is the hospital of choice. It is a new hospital built and opened in 2007 to replace Middletown Regional Hospital. By eliminating it as a choice for the retirees who are under 65 or who are not eligible for Medicare Parts A & B, those folks will be forced to travel to either Cincinnati or Dayton when they need hospital services. The other hospitals listed, Miami Valley and Good Samaritan Hospitals are two of the major medical facilities in the Dayton area so that further restricts retirees' choices.

Many of the doctors in this area practice out of Atrium Medical Center. It makes little sense to have a doctor who cannot also treat his patient when they need hospitalization simply because that patient is covered by Medical Mutual. This change will force retirees to leave local doctors that they have seen for many years and find new ones who are affiliated with hospitals that will accept Medical Mutual insurance.

This change will also impact the families of retirees not only because they, if covered by Medical Mutual, will have to find new hospitals, but also because they will have to travel further to get to new hospitals and visit loved ones who may be inpatients. The prospect of having to travel into Cincinnati or Dayton is daunting to many of them.

I was also surprised to read that Ms. Ecklar couldn't say how many STRS retirees would be affected by this change. OPERS seems to have a better handle on the situation. I would think that STRS, with all its resources, could be better informed.

Many STRS retirees are facing changes in their health care insurance because STRS has dropped Aetna as a provider beginning January 1st. A forced move to Medical Mutual was distasteful enough it is only compounded by having to deal with this elimination of services.

It seems to me that the contract STRS negotiated with Medical Mutual should have included safeguards against this type action. What plans does STRS have to assist those of us who are impacted by this decision?

Sincerely,
Ryan L. Holderman

DDN: Disaster for STRS retirees

From Ryan Holderman, November 18, 2009
Subject: DISASTER of STRS Retirees!

Dear One & All:

In January all STRS retirees under 65 and those over 65 who are not eligible for Medicare A & B will not be able to use Middletown's Atrium Medical Center. This will also effect Miami Valley, Good Samaritan hospitals and Upper Valley Medical Center.

STRS is only offering Medical Mutual health insurance to this group of retirees and Medical Mutual is dropping all Premier Health Partner facilities! For many in Butler and Warren counties, Atrium Medical Center, opened two years ago to replace Middletown Regional Hospital, is their hospital of choice. It is closest to the area, easiest for family and friends to visit and the hospital at which many of their doctors practice.

The article below explains what is happening.

This is not good news for many STRS retirees!

Later, Ryan

Public retirees affected by Medical Mutual-Premier split

Hospital care benefits for thousands of area residents will be affected.

By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer
Dayton Daily News, November 17, 2009

DAYTON — Edward and Ginger Seamon of Middletown took pride in the new Atrium Medical Center in Warren County, volunteering there regularly.

But the Seamons — he a retired principal and she a retired teacher — now find themselves in a fix: After Jan. 1, should they need hospitalization, they can’t be admitted at Atrium without paying cost-prohibitive, out-of-network rates.

That’s because Medical Mutual of Ohio said last week it’s terminating its agreement with Premier Health Partners, whose hospitals include Miami Valley and Good Samaritan hospitals, Upper Valley Medical Center and Atrium. Medical Mutual said it won’t accept Premier’s proposed reimbursement rates.

“It’s very ironic that we can’t use it (Atrium),” Ginger Seamon said. She and her husband, who is about to receive a volunteer service award from the hospital, plan to stop volunteering there at year’s end.

The Seamons aren’t alone. Public-sector retirees throughout the Dayton region will be affected if Premier Health Partners is no longer part of Medical Mutual’s network.

In 2010, a Medical Mutual plan is the only option available for State Teachers Retirement System retirees 65 and older not enrolled in Medicare parts A and B, as well as for retirees under 65, STRS spokeswoman Laura Ecklar said. (The Seamons don’t have Medicare part A).

The impact will be felt primarily in retirees’ access to hospitals, not doctors, Ecklar said.

Ecklar couldn’t say how many STRS beneficiaries would be affected by the pending Medical Mutual-Premier rift.

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, meanwhile, has 2,393 beneficiaries in the Dayton area that use the Premier hospital network, OPERS spokeswoman Julie Graham-Price said. The majority of them are not Medicare-eligible, meaning they’re under 65 years old.

Beneficiaries of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund are not affected; their benefits are administered by UnitedHealthcare, a fund spokesman said.

Medical Mutual is also the sole third-party administrator for Upper Valley Medical Center’s health plan. The looming rift affects 1,120 employees there.

Medical Mutual members may call (877) 328-6664 for information.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/business/public-retirees-affected-by-medical-mutual-premier-split-407644.html?

Kathie Bracy: A certified letter to Mike Nehf

From Kathie Bracy, November 17, 2009
To: [STRS Board, John Curry, Jim Stoll, John Bos, Molly Janczyk, Tom Curtis, Rich DeColibus, Dennis Leone, John Lazares, James Nash, Steve Wartenberg, Duke Snider, Danny Bubp, Matt Huffman]
CC: nehfm@strsoh.org
Sent: 11/17/2009 1:35:35 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: FYI: Letter to Mr. Nehf

FYI, I have pasted below a copy of a certified letter (also attached) which I sent to Mike Nehf last week when I did not receive a response to two previous e-mails with questions regarding healthcare coverage for spouses of STRS employees. Also FYI, I am leaving for Germany this week and will be out of touch for about two weeks.

Thank you.

Kathie Bracy

---------

November 12, 2009

Mr. Michael J. Nehf, Executive Director
State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio
275 East Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215

Dear Mr. Nehf:

Since I have not received responses from you to e-mails I sent October 30 and November 8, I am resorting to certified mail, in the event the e-mails did not reach you. Copies are posted below. A response would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Kathie Bracy
STRS retiree

cc: Bob Stein
Jim McGreevy
Craig Brooks
Representative Danny Bubp
Representative Matt Huffman
--------

Kathie Bracy to Mike Nehf
CC: [John Curry, Jim Stoll, John Bos, Molly Janczyk, Tom Curtis, Rich DeColibus, Dennis Leone, John Lazares]
Sent: 11/8/2009 3:29:33 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Fwd: Healthcare coverage for spouses of STRS employees

Dear Mr. Nehf,

Since I have not heard back from you regarding questions I posed on October 30, I am re-sending the e-mail to you (below), in case you didn't receive it.

Thank you.

Respectfully,
Kathie Bracy
--------
From: Kathie Bracy
To: nehfm@strsoh.org, board@strsoh.org
CC: [John Curry, Jim Stoll, John Bos, Molly Janczyk, Tom Curtis, Rich DeColibus, Dennis Leone, John Lazares]
Sent: 10/30/2009 7:58:32 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Healthcare coverage for spouses of STRS employees

Dear Mr. Nehf:

How many STRS employees' spouses are covered by the STRS employees' healthcare? What does this cost STRS? Do the STRS employees pay any portion of the spouse's coverage? If so, how much?

Thank you.

Respectfully,
Kathie Bracy
Click images to enlarge. After clicking the first one, you can click it again to further enlarge.

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Dispatch: Judge denies GOP info on teachers

Columbus Dispatch, November 15, 2009

Judge denies GOP info on teachers

By Cathy Candisky

A Franklin County judge has temporarily blocked releasing to the Ohio Republican Party the names, addresses, phone numbers and other information about Ohio teachers, administrators and staff.

Common Pleas Judge Laurel Beatty granted the temporary restraining order yesterday at the request of the Ohio Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

A permanent decision will be made after a court hearing later this month.

The GOP sought the information on both public and private school employees from the Department of Education, citing Ohio public record law.

The union, which has a strong historical alliance to the Democratic Party, claims the information is not subject to disclosure.

“The protection of members’ personal information is of utmost importance to the OEA,” said union president Patricia Frost-Brooks.

Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine said this is not the first request for such information and blasted the union for trying to block it from communicating with educators.

“We’re only trying to let Ohio teachers know where our candidates stand on education issues, and we’re no longer going to allow the leadership of the OEA to spread lies and attacks without an appropriate response,” he said.

“We’ve asked for similar information from other departments to help us communicate with veterans, farmers, fisherman, hunters and dozens of other groups. Political parties have done this for many years.”

OEA Salaries from the U.S. Department of Labor: It's about that time of year again....

...for the annual posting of the OEA salaries. The most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Labor by the OEA is nearing. Below are the directions for you to go to the U.S. Dept. of Labor and see when this wage information is filed and, more importantly, what it contains. Below are the directions for you to "do it yourself!"

John

If you wish to access the full report please follow this procedure:

1. Go to this page (this link opens in a new window):
....http://erds.dol-esa.gov/query/getOrgQry.do
2. Enter this employer number: 512-490 in the box listed as "File Number."
3. Click the "Submit" button.

[Then click on "NATIONAL EDUCATION ASN IND STATE ASSOCIATION, STATE AFFILIATE" under "Affiliation/Organization Name." On the next page, find "Fiscal Year" and click on "2008 Report." KB]

Addendum: For the annual posting of the OEA salaries. The most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Labor by the OEA is about to be listed on the Dept. of Labor's website. Please check often as it will be online sometime later this month. Below are the directions for you to go to the U.S. Dept. of Labor and see when this wage information is filed and, more importantly, what it contains. Below are the directions for you to "do it yourself!"

John

From John Curry, November 15, 2009

Is a teacher's home address and phone number part of the public record?

From John Curry, November 15, 2009
Gee...didn't we have this issue pop up when Jim Stoll ran for STRS board? Well...it looks as if we may get some more enlightenment on this issue and sooner rather than later. Check out this PD article.
John
The education department actually got two recent requests for teacher contact information, one from the Republicans and the other from a Columbus insurance agent who said she wanted to provide teachers with material for classroom instruction.
Before she withdrew her request, the department asked the Ohio attorney general's office for an opinion and was told the information would be a public record, said Scott Blake, education department spokesman.
"We will follow the court's directions," he said.

Ohio Education Association blocks Ohio Republican Party request for teacher contact information

By Edith Starzyk, The Plain Dealer
November 14, 2009

COLUMBUS -- A union representing 130,000 Ohio teachers convinced a Columbus judge to hold up release of teachers' home addresses and phone numbers to the Ohio Republican Party.

The Ohio Education Association was granted a temporary restraining order by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Laurel Beatty late Friday afternoon.

Judge Daniel Hogan is slated to hear arguments in the case, with OEA contending the information is not a public record under Ohio law.

"We agree the public has a right to know about teachers' licensure status, but protection of their personal information is of utmost importance to us," said OEA spokeswoman Michele Prater. She said the association had heard from members concerned about how the information would be used.

The GOP's public records request asked the Ohio Department of Education for "all contact information" for teachers, principals and school support staff licensed by the state. That would include the home mailing address, home phone number and e-mail address of educators in public and private schools.

Kevin DeWine, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, said in a statement that the information would be used to communicate with teachers and let them know where Republican candidates stand on education issues.

Charging the OEA "often acts as a political arm of the Democratic Party," DeWine said that "we're no longer going to allow the leadership of the OEA to spread lies and attacks without an appropriate response."

DeWine also said the party has asked for similar information from other departments to help it reach "veterans, farmers, fishers, hunters, and dozens of other groups."

The education department actually got two recent requests for teacher contact information, one from the Republicans and the other from a Columbus insurance agent who said she wanted to provide teachers with material for classroom instruction.

Before she withdrew her request, the department asked the Ohio attorney general's office for an opinion and was told the information would be a public record, said Scott Blake, education department spokesman.

"We will follow the court's directions," he said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: estarzyk@plaind.com, 216-999-4881
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/ohio_education_association_blo.html