As we close the books on a most challenging year, your Officers and Directors have been profoundly impacted by your ongoing support and encouragement. Not a day passes without receiving e-mails and letters expressing appreciation for our efforts to ensure the continuation of promised company benefits. This has been particularly impressive since we “struck out” with Mr. Whitacre (and SBC) in our attempt to secure a long overdue pension increase (June 2000) for Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell retirees. Compounding this frustration, was the announcement made by SBC the week of November 14, 2005 informing first and second level managers they would receive a $1500 bonus for their efforts to control costs and increase sales. (Undoubtedly, “higher management” was also included in a bonus' but we are not privy to this information.)

Regrettably, our Association's effort to “restore” telephone concession benefits for those retirees living “outside an SBC serving area” was not to be since SBC filed addendums to the CPUC tariff nullifying the foundation for our formal complaint. The former Pacific Bell also played a disingenuous role in this procedure by revising the telephone concession plan in July 1985, for all Pacific Bell retirees (regardless of retirement date) by reducing the concession to $35 monthly!

In spite of these reversals, the Officers and Directors of your TelCo Retirees Association, Inc. remain committed to continue our collective efforts in behalf of all Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell retirees.

State of California Opposition to the Merger of PacificCare Health Systems and UHC

Our Association recently addressed this issue by writing to Mr. Philip Angelides, California State Treasurer, the latter part of September 2005 graphically outlining the inferior health benefits service our retirees were receiving from United HealthCare, and supporting his position to oppose the planned merger.

Here, for your edification is his response to our correspondence:


PHILIP ANGELIDES
Treasurer
State of California

October 6, 2005

Mr. Sumner K. Emery
President
TelCo Retirees Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 600067
San Diego, CA 92160-0067


Dear Mr. Emery:

Thank you for your letter and for informing me of the experience your members have had with UnitedHealth Group.

As you know, I have called on Governor Schwarzenegger's Department of Managed Health Care to reject the UnitedHealth's proposed merger with PacificCare Health Systems unless PacificCare withdraws its plans to pay its executives up to $315 million in excessive payouts as a result of the merger they engineered.

I have also asked the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System to use their clout as investors holding a combined $480 million in PacificCare and UnitedHealth stock to press PacificCare to withdraw plans for these excessive payouts before the merger plan is presented to stockholders later this year. I have enclosed more information on my efforts in this regard.

Please be assured that I will continue to fight this merger plan, which I believe will hurt California health care consumers and shareholders. Again, I appreciated hearing from you.

Sincerely,
(Signed)
Phil Angelides
State Treasurer


Enclosures: (Documents mailed to California Public Employees' Retirement System and California State Teachers' Retirement Systems.)


Health Benefits

We continue efforts to “clarify” information contained in the SBC 2006 Medical Plan for Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell managers who retired after January 1, 1991. The “out of pocket” medical deductibles and the “Outside Network Area” (ONA) continue to be troublesome for our membership.

Many of our impacted retirees have expressed confusion and concern about these issues in numerous calls and email messages. As a result, we requested clarification from senior SBC Health Benefit Officers and received the following information:

Negotiated Rates: “There is a provision in the United HealthCare/SBC Medical Plan which provides for a Œnegotiated expense between United HealthCare and the medical provider (physician). The Œnegotiated expense would apply to the retiree’s Œdeductible

“When a retiree is enrolled in the SBC Medical Plan - Network Option and sees a Network provider, the retiree would pay the eligible expense which is the Œnegotiated rate- not the billed amount. The eligible expense (negotiated rate) is then applied to the Deductible and the Out-Of-Pocket maximums - if you have not met these amounts. The provider would write off the difference between what the provider billed compared to the negotiated rate and the provider cannot balance bill you. The retiree does not pay the difference. However, if you seek care from a provider that is not in the network, then you would be responsible for a higher deductible, higher OOP (Out Of Pocket) and a higher co-insurance plus the difference between the billed amount and the plan benefit payable.”



(SBC Health Benefits has requested that United HealthCare look into the wrong information provided retirees and undertake additional training of its representatives.)

Outside Network Area (ONA): “When a retiree is considered Outside Network Area (ONA), this is because he or she is not located within 5 miles of 2 Network primary care providers, 2 Network pediatricians and 2 Network OB/GYNs and within 15 miles of a Network hospital. This ONA designation permits the retiree to seek care from the UHC PPO (Preferred Provider Option) network (also called Options PPO) which is more expansive and usually minimizing travel. A retiree can call the toll free number 1-866-705-9767 to confirm whether their provider is in the PPO network at this time. If a retiree uses the PPO providers, the retiree receives a discounted provider's fee negotiated between the provider and UHC. Each time the retiree seeks care he should first ask if the provider is a UHC network provider and if not, call UHC to locate one in their area. (If you are a retiree who presently lives “outside of a Network area” you have the right to “opt in” and receive the same benefits as those who live “within” the Network primary area.)

“If the retiree does not use a network provider, the retiree out of pocket expense is more.

Website

Thanks to Directors Richard Reid, Charles Muller and Charles Love with an assist from Treasurer Bob Hinshaw, we are pleased to announce the completion of a major “updating” of our Association's website www.telcoretirees.org. We engaged the services of a new graphics company (Thomas Creative) who incorporated a number of “Bell System” graphic presentations in the website. We have also changed the format and links on the home page, and updated the entire scope of the site.

We encourage you to personally visit the website and introduce your company friends to the vital information contained there. Don't forget your password (ma-bell). (We currently receive more “downloaded” membership applications from this site than we do from any other source!)


National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN)

We are in receipt of a November 17 Newsletter from the NRLN announcing the passage of Senate Bill 1783 (Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005). The Senate voted to approve passage by a vote of 97-2. This bill (which is of vital importance to all retirees) provides stronger rules to fully fund pension plans, provides measures to prevent future pension plan failures, protects older workers in conversions to Cash Balance Pension Plans, provides safeguards to prevent corporate executives from lining their pockets while workers' and retirees' pensions suffer and provides greater pension retirement security for widows and former spouses.



Much remains to be done to improve some provisions in this bill as well as securing the approval of the House of Representatives. After this is accomplished, retirees need to support the passage by the joint House and Senate Committees before the bill is finalized and sent to the President for approval.

Most of you know the TelCo Retirees Association, Inc. withdrew our membership from the NRLN some months ago due to controversial issues involving their dues structure and a troublesome provision permitting solicitation of our members for direct NRLN membership. (We were unable to reach an amicable agreement on this issue because of our stated policy of membership privacy.). Nonetheless, we continue to receive vital legislative information from the NRLN that impacts all retirees and their promised corporate benefits. Consequently, we alert our members to these critical issues and request your support for the passage of this legislation.

Senate Bill 1783 warrants the full support of all TelCo Retirees Association members (regardless of residence). (PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND WRITE A PERSONAL LETTER TO YOUR U.S. SENATORS EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR THEIR PASSAGE OF THIS CRITICAL LEGISLATION. YOU MAY ALSO VISIT THE NRLN WEBSITE http://capwiz.com/abtr/home AND LOOK FOR THE ACTION ALERT BOX, CLICK ON THE “CLICK HERE” FOLLOWING A NOTICE THAT STATES “THANK YOUR U.S. SENATORS FOR VOTING FOR S.1783.)” A SAMPLE LETTER IS PROVIDED TO SAY “THANK YOU” TO EVERY SENATOR EXCEPT MICHIGAN'S 2 SENATORS WHO VOTED AGAINST THE BILL AND SENATOR JON CORZINE OF NEW JERSEY WHO DID NOT VOTE.


Vigilance is the price TelCo retirees must pay to ensure the continuation (and improvements) of our promised corporate benefits.

“The Retiree Associations of AT&T”

You will be pleased to learn the “Big Four” retiree groups are currently evaluating the above title as the “official” name of our new “umbrella retiree organization.” (Ameritech, SNET, AT&T, TelCo)


Further, the leaders of the “Big Four” retiree associations found “our” Mission Statement in concert with their own view points and asked us to modify it for the new association. Here is my initial draft of the Mission Statement.

Mission Statement

THE RETIREE ASSOCIATIONS OF AT&T (AN ALL VOLUNTEER GROUP OF MANAGEMENT AND NON-MANAGEMENT RETIREES FROM FORMER SBC COMPANIES) ARE DEDICATED TO PROTECT, ENHANCE AND ASSURE THE CONTINUATION OF PENSIONS, HEALTH AND OTHER BENEFITS PROMISED BY THE COMPANIES AT THE TIME OF RETIREMENT.

As we close the year 2005, your Officers and Directors wish to extend our most sincere appreciation for your continued support, and wish you and yours A JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON AND A NEW YEAR FILLED WITH GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.


Sumner K. Emery, President