RTAL DENTAL Meeting
Notification from: Teachers' Association of Lindenhurst
Dear RTAL Retirees,
Thank you so much for attending today’s dental meeting. We truly appreciate your time, engagement, and continued partnership.
As promised, below are the resources and links discussed during the meeting. Please note that the Premium Letter listed below is also being mailed out to your home address tomorrow.
Premium Letter: Click link below
Cigna Transition Retiree Video: Watch the Video on YouTube
Cigna Transition Retiree Presentation: View the Presentation Slides
Your input is incredibly valuable to us as we plan for the future. Please take a few moments to fill out our survey regarding our benefits program:
Thank you again for your time and feedback. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Best regards,
Welfare Trust
from: Teachers' Association of Lindenhurst
Dear Active and Retired Members,
Five years ago, we negotiated an excellent agreement with Aetna for our dental coverage, which included a 5% rate increase cap for four years. As you know, over the past five years, inflation—particularly within the insurance industry—has significantly outpaced those caps.
Because of these inflationary pressures and the high utilization of our dental benefits, we have faced a very challenging negotiation cycle with Aetna, as well as alternative providers. As of this morning, Aetna’s final negotiated rate proposal was a 39% increase. This is simply unsustainable for our members and the long-term health of the Trust.
Consequently, we will most likely be transitioning to a new insurance carrier. However, even with a provider switch, market inflation and our high usage rates mean that premium increases will still be significant. Through rigorous negotiation, our broker has managed to lower those initial numbers. To ensure the absolute sustainability of the Trust and the best outcome for our membership, we may also need to make adjustments and decrease some benefits.
We expect to have answers by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. As soon as these details are finalized, we will immediately share them with you.
We appreciate your patience during this time—especially our retired members who are currently awaiting billing for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Welfare Trust
Please make sure, checks are signed, dated and made out to
TAL Welfare Trust and mail to:
692 S. Wellwood Ave.
Lindenhurst, NY 11757
We are still having trouble with members submitting payments late, or not at all.
We care very much about our membership, and we do whatever it takes to try not
to cancel their dental plan but even one quarterly payment missed puts the bur-
den of payment on the reserved funds of The Trust.
Please, get payments in on time.