Chair Talk
August 2024
The October 4, 2024, Coordinating Council meeting will have an Optum Rx representative as the presenter of our program on prescription drugs. I expect that we will have representatives from Employee Benefits attend this meeting as well.
If your SERA Chapter is interested in having a zoom meeting with an Optum Rx representative, those arrangements can be made with Employee Benefits. If you are interested in having this type of meeting, please contact me and we can get more information from your Chapter so we can make this type of meeting happen.
I have discovered lately (Jackie Russell and Sue Colon awhile back) that there are websites where you can purchase forever stamps at a discount. Two websites that I am aware of are: stampsandcompany.com and ircsrxstamps.com. Both websites are legitimate. You can order one hundred forever stamps for about $29.99 — that is about 30cents a stamp. Your Chapter can reduce your mailing costs by utilizing these websites. There are many websites you can find that offer forever stamps but the two I have listed have been used by Jackie, Sue and people we know.
I expect that SERA representatives and Employee Benefits staff will be meeting later this month to discuss healthcare benefits for 2025. Medicare is planning on Medicare Advantage changes in 2025. I haven’t been informed of any changes in our benefits for next year.
I am still talking with Senator John Cherry and his staff about introducing a bill to enable SERA to regain our ability to receive monthly new retiree lists. We have not been able to receive those lists for a few years. Hopefully, we will have legislation introduced this year that will help us recruit new members.
I have decided not to run for the Coordinating Council Chair position in 2025. I have been in the CC Chair position for 23 years this year. Cheryl Streberger will be the CC Chair in 2025. Cheryl is much younger and smarter than I am. Cheryl will be a great person to lead the SERA CC. I will be the Vice-Chair next year. It has been an interesting 23 years with SERA and all of the interesting members I have met. SERA has been a high point in my retirement years. We have a great relationship with ORS, Employee Benefits and the various vendors of our health benefits. All of the people SERA has encountered over the years have been very helpful to our members and all retirees.
Editor’s note: Bob Kopasz is Chair of the Michigan SERA Council. He may be reached at P.O. Box 692, Mt. Morris, MI 48458; phone 810/240-8380.