ENROLLMENT IS OVER - BUT THOSE WHO BECOME MEDICARE ELIGIBLE IN 2009 SEE BELOW - AND THE TABS SHOULD BE HELPFUL

Benefits Team Home Page Results - 2008

» During September through December, there were almost 11,000 visits and over 28,000 pages were viewed here. The Benefits Team hopes that you were well served.

» Be sure to do the following right now!

(1) Register yourself on the Alcatel-Lucent benefit web site at
www.resources.hewitt.com/alcatel-lucent/ so that you can stay current with your Alcatel-Lucent coverage.

(2) If you are Medicare eligible, register yourself at MyMedicare.gov so you can stay current with your Medicare coverage.

» If you become Medicare-eligible in 2009...

You should receive a package from Medicare that includes the current version of Medicare and You. Use the attached for keeping notes as you go along.
And there's a comparison chart for you to fill in, from AARP. And check the other [TABS] on this page for other source material. The LRO Benefits team has created a slide show to help explain the many choices. Check here to download it.

Start by visiting the medicare.gov web site. It provides many links so you can find vendors and costs of various Medicare plans. You should also read and familiarize yourself with other Medicare guides, including the following (these are lengthy to print out, so ask for a paper copy from Medicare).

Medicare Medigap plans (also called Medicare Supplement Insurance plans). Also, read the attached description from AARP. Note the comment "can I be refused coverage" at the bottom. Your access to Supplemental insurance may have limitations in later years.

Medicare Advantage plans (also called Medicare Part C - including commercial Private-Fee-for-Service [PFFS] plans similar to the SecureHorizons MedicareDirect plan being offered by Alcatel-Lucent.)

Medicare Part D drug plans (also called Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs)). Data for 2009 is available.

Local Help: For local help with your decision, almost every state has a help group group that will provide assistance on the choices you have to make. Find the phone numbers, Web sites, and e-mail addresses by clicking here.

Company Performance: You can get an insight into the insurance company's performance through complaint records compiled by your state insurance commission. Visit the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's Consumer Information Source by clicking here.

You will also receive a Medicare guide from Alcatel-Lucent that offers its own health care and prescription drug plans. A number of retirees have reported that commercial Medicare plans offer better value, so be sure to check and compare the Alcatel-Lucent offer with what's available at medicare.gov.

Not all providers will accept the SecureHorizons plan. Call SecureHorizons at 1-888-980-8117 and check whether the doctors and especially the hospitals you use accept the Alcatel-Lucent plan.

However, if your spouse is not Medicare eligible, you may need to continue your Alcatel-Lucent coverage so that your spouse can have coverage along with you.

» How the Benefits Team Home Page is organized. There are [TABS] above that can be clicked to provide you with specific information to help you in your decision process. One of your most important decisions is whether to continue with Alcatel-Lucent offered health and prescription drug plans, or to use commercial plans. The LRO Benefits Team doesn't take a position on these two options - other than to provide you as much information as possible for you to reach your own conclusion.

The [TAB] How to Use Guide provides detail information on how to compare health plans. The [TAB] Plan Checklists provides specific Checklists for you to enter both Alcatel-Lucent data and data from other plans that you will have considered from the [TAB] How to Use Guide. The other [TABS] provide useful supporting information for your effort.

TABS on this BENEFITS TEAM HOME PAGE
Tab name
Recent Events	Recent Medicare or Alcatel-Lucent information that you should be aware of.
How to Use Guide	Download the various references to learn how to find plans and how to compare them for you and your family's individual needs.
Plan Checklists	Find the items that you need to compare plans from health care insurers and from Alcatel-Lucent by downloading the Checklists that apply to you. When completed, you will be in a better position to choose which plan to use in 2009 based on quality, services and costs.
Rx Plans	Provides references to Rx plans so that you can consider alternatives to Alcatel-Lucent's plan, which has some changes in 2009.
Sources	Provides a listing of phone numbers and web sites from Alcatel-Lucent and others, to answer questions or get information.
About Us	Shows who's at work on Benefits topics and invites you to join and help out. It explains what the LRO Board's goals and objectives are.

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» MORE PLACES TO VISIT
The LRO Benefits Advice web page is a good place to visit for up to date news and information. Click here. There's a very thoughtful paper by the LRO on what to do for a retiree's survivor. Read "Planning for the Unexpected." And as always provide your feedback by sending an e-mail.

» Please note that this information is provided from many sources that appear to be credible but does not represent a recommendation by the LRO for any specific course of action by you. Thanks for visiting and we look forward to serving you.

LRO Healthcare Survey Results – Insurance Alternatives

The LRO conducted a follow-up Healthcare Insurance Survey with those LRO members who noted in the LRO Opinion Survey early in 2007 that they had found alternatives to the healthcare insurance plans offered by Alcatel-Lucent. Because insurance plans vary from state to state, the LRO is providing a summary by state of the healthcare insurance carriers that some of your fellow Lucent retirees have chosen to use. Click here to view the survey results.