The next scheduled meeting of the OSA/OSART Retirees Club (OSARC) will be Wednesday, January 12, 2000 at noon at the OSA office, 220 East 23rd Street, Suite 709. It will be an exciting event! Like New Years Eve! We welcome all new retirees.

December Luncheon Attendees. Hakimah Al-Zahra, Alice Allen, Leslie Allen, Jean Anmuth, Don Baharav, Renee Bash, Elizabeth Borden, Ken Burton, Ida Chin, Gloria D'Jaha, Jack Dobrow, Manny Friedman, Tom Gorse, Shirley Gray, Yvonne Haggar, Flora Jones, Roslyn Jones, Jean Krampner, Irving Kreindler, Richard Kucera, Marvin Lutenberg, Hank Mandel, George McKie, Jim McKeon, Mary Murphy, Melba Neely, Sheldon Oliff, Mary Ellen Phifer, Claus Reinisch, Edna Riley, Janette Springle, Bernice Stephens, Joe Sperling, and Anna Vives.

Opening remarks by Anna Vives were very reflective. She stressed how meaningful the meetings are to her. It is a sharing of information with each other and the development of warm relationships. She felt that we have a lot to be thankful for and wished good things for the new millennium. Everyone was reminded and invited to the OSA Holiday Party to be held December 14th.

Cost Of Drugs. Members are still concerned about the high cost of drugs. OSA, under the leadership of Bob Croghan, has formed an independent coalition of unions that do not have a welfare fund drug benefit. Members of these unions must buy the option rider to cover their drug prescriptions. This coalition is called "Easy Rider."

The escalating cost of drugs is an international problem and the bottom line is pharmaceutical companies' drive for profits. It was suggested that we have someone from the OSA Welfare Fund speak at our next meeting.

Long Term Care. Jack Dobrow wanted to know if OSA offered a plan for long term care. It does not at the present time. It was suggested that he contact the NYC Employees Benefits Program at 40 Rector St. The American Association of Retired Persons has a long term care plan, as does the Civil Service Retired Employees Association (CSREA). It was suggested that various speakers on the issue address our meetings.

COLA. Joe Sperling stated that the unions, in conjunction with state comptroller Carl McCall, are pushing for a cost of living adjustment. Joe mentioned that because the 1970's inflation rate was high, many retirees are now living in poverty.

Jean Anmuth visited the Kingdom of Bhutan and therefore missed our last meeting. She gave a very interesting and insightful report of her trip including information about the Buddhist religion and the two major languages spoken in Bhutan.

Our next meeting will include a discussion of a change in our meeting date. Members of COMRO have to attend another earlier meeting on the same day as our monthly meeting. A change in meeting date will help these members to attend both meetings.

June Luncheon. Ana Vives, Shirley Gray and Edna Riley have volunteered for the luncheon committee. They will meet and give their report at the January meeting.

Schedule B Medicare. Marvin Lutenberg spoke about the $200 incentive given to individuals who joined HMOs. The reimbursement was received in August for one or two years. There was a general understanding that this was to be ongoing as long as the individual was enrolled in the HMO. However, the money has now been stopped. Marvin felt that the way the incentive was originally advertised encouraged people to join the program, but was misleading.

(Ed.) Although retirees can only change their enrollment information every two years (on even years), there was a special reopener for retirees in October, 1999 for those that wanted to opt out of the HMO because of the City's reneging on the incentive.

Unfortunately, communication of this information was not a high priority for the City and, as a result, very few of us knew about it.

The Unions are very upset and have pressed the City to have another special reopener this spring. There are many more changes that need to be addressed in the reopener. The question, also remains whether or not this is to be "counted" as a retiree's 'once in a lifetime' change other than the regular reopener every two years. Answers will be forthcoming.

Dues, Dues, Dues, For Y2K. Send In Your Dues. Starting next month we start a new membership year and begin compiling the list of active OSARC members all over again for the new year. Make sure your name is on it.

COMRO Report. Jim McKeon spoke about COMRO (The Coalition of Municipal Retirees Organizations). It was founded four years ago when health plan changes were introduced and unions were left out in the cold.

COMRO came together in the belief that retirees organizations could best use their power of persuasion jointly. Many issues are addressed in this group. The main focus at this time is obtaining a permanent Cost of Living Adjustment. The COLA is basically calculated on the number of years a person has been retired. COMRO wants a "real" COLA, like the Federal Government's, which is locked into the Consumer Price Index. They also want to get a CPI for Seniors and are working on this issue. Seniors vote and have many concerns. A special bill, HR1422, has been introduced to create a CPI for seniors.

The Sunset Provision of the Health Care Reform Bill will expire December 31. If this provision is not extended, there will be an end to the benefits which come from the State for our health care.

The Rent Control Bill must pass the City Council by March 2000 or rent protections for stabilized and controlled tenants will end. The Metropolitan Council on Housing is a good resource for answering housing questions. Visit their website at https://www.tenant.net/tengroup

Y2K. Is the pension Y2K compliant? Checks have been pre-printed up to two months and the City also has a contingency plan. Some financial institutions are very interdependent and a glitch in one system can have a ripple effect on other systems. Needless to say, there is a lot of fear and panic regarding Y2K.

Active Members of the Organization of Staff Analysts Retirees Club. Alice Allen, Clifford Allen, Leslie Allen, Joseph Alvarez, Hakimah Al-Zahra, Marsha Ambrose, Paul Anderson, Jean Anmuth, Florence Appelstein, Henry Armendinger, Hanacho Atako, Jewel Bachrach, Robert Backes, Don Baharav, Malkit Bains, Mary Barlow, Charles Baroo, Ted Barra, Renee Bash, Barbara Batts, Charles Beckinella, Judith Beiss, Ruth Bell, Joanna Belt, Diana Benitez, Carol Bennett, Marilyn Bernard, George Bernett, Vidyadhar Bhide, Adona Blake, Helen Blecher, Elizabeth Borden, Anthony Brancale, Veronica Bright, Yvonne Broughton, Angela Brown, Bertha Mae Brown, Herbert Brown, Rosemary Brown, James Bucchino, Theresa Burke, Kenneth Burton , Patricia Burton , Joseph Buster, Dorothy Byrd, Eugene Calvert, John Campobasso, Joseph Cappiello, Burton Carlin, Phyllis Carr, Peter Caruso, Janice Cerra, Lana Cherry, Ida Chin, John Clark, Josephine Clark, Joyce Cleary, George Cohen, Elsie Colon, James Corleto, Hannibal Coscia, Peter Costa, George Costantino, Stanley Cutchins, Liz D'Aversa, Marilyn Daitsman, Pratip Dasgupta, Dolores Daniels, Ralph Delise, John Dellecave, Ro DiCristofalo, Vincent DiGesu, Tony DiLeonardo, Gloria D'Jaha, Jack Dobrow, Edwin Douglass, Carla Drije, James Duffield, Walter Dugan Martina Elam, May Engler, Glloria Erardy, Linda Erickson, Camille Fatto, William Fellows, Carol Fernandez, Lee Filerman, Harold Fowler, Branda Fox, Bev Freierman, Manny Friedman, Ella Gales, Lorraine Gewirtz, Shirley Gilliam, Mary Giraldi, Myrna Gonzalez, Pedro Gonzalez, Joan Gordon, Sheila Gorsky, Sybil Gowdy, Stanley Granat, Susan Greenhouse, Stephen Gregor, Ira Greinsky, Gilbert Grennie, Joel Grill, George Gritzan, Mary Gropp, Marcia Grossberg , Martin Grower, Richard Guarino, Frank Gulino, Mary Gunn, Tilak Gupta, Yvonne Haggar, Claire Hall, Frances Hapaz, Marion Harnik, John Hastey, Betty Henderson, Jacq. Henderson, Solomon Himelfarb, Maria Ibanez, Haydee Inclan, Ruben Irizarry, Evelyn Jackson , Margaret Jackson, Gloria Jimenez, Elizabeth Johnson, Robert Johnson, Marilyn Johnson, Flora Jones, Roslyn Jones, Hjalmar Jorgensen, Amy Kahn, Mel Kalmanowitz, Jeffrey Keller, Carol Keyser, John Kobelski, Marian Konstan, Henry Korobelnik, Jean Krampner, Irving Kreindler, Jane Kronholtz, Richard Kucera, Adele Kwaw, Rita Langer, Judith Layzer, Joel Leichter, Andrew Lewis, Charles Lieberman, Joy Liechenstein, William Linhart, Lillie Lockhart, Leopold Loher, Eileen Lovett, Flora Lucchese, Rose Maconi, Hank Mandel, Carol Marker, Donald Marshall, Ralph Martinez, Peter Mastropolo, Rosylin Maxwell, Weltha McCant, Thomas McGann, Jim McKeon, Velma Mclaughlin, David Mei, Pearlie Mennell, Margarita Mercado, Brenda Mereu James Meyer, Joseph Mickens, John Milat, Paula Miller, Helen Mitchell, Sallie Monk, Barbara Mont, Ch. Montalbano, Dan Morgan, Susan Mullgrav, J.J. Murphy, Mary Murphy, John Nash, Melba Neely, Jack Niznick, Cath. O'Connell, John O'Fee, Thomas Ogden, Sheldon Oliff, Murray Olsen, Henry Opad, John Ost, Larry Pappert, Anita Payne, Delores Peloso, Sara Perry, Anthony Pettolina, Mary Ellen Phifer, Theodore Phillips, Jack Pilchman, Arlene Pitt, Vincent Polimeni, Pauline Pon, Peter Prestia, Alma Pugliese, Mimi Raimondi, Patricia Rashkin, Thomas Reed, Jeanette Reid, Claus Reinisch, Laura Reisman, Jack Reubens, Ray Riccio, Dolores Rice, Dolores Richards, Edna Riley, Gwendolyn Riley, John Rose, Donald Ross, Norman Roth, Anna Rudbarg, Ed Ruettiger, Lorraines Russo, Marc Sawyer, Theresa Sbano, David Schapiro, Elaine Schirmer, Adele Schlapik, Ina Schwartz, Peter Schweitzer, Thomas Seelye, Ida Sessa, Anita Shleifstein, John Siddons, Edna Sieber, Lois Sims, Ina Sinclair, Milton Sirota, Catherine Slade, David Smallwood, Edward Smith, Charlotte Spiegel, Janette Springle, Fred Steinberg, Bernice Stephens, Barbara Stewart, James Stewart, Cele Stolzenberg, Penelope Stubbs, Thomas Tallarico, Tuly Tanenbaum, Kirsten Telemaque, Barbara Thompson, Arthur Thomsen, Nora Tinsley, Irene Toler, John Toman, Roberta Van Laven, Ana Vives, Vida Wagner, Richard Walters, Herbert Wasserman, Jacquelyn Watson, Olga Weiss, R. Weiss-Fischler, Eric Werner, Alyce White, Grace White, Margaret Williams, Bettye Wilson, Kay Wilson, Geraldine Wooden, Simeon Wright, Bernard Yen.

Drug Coverage. The OSA Welfare Fund Trustees continue to match the Management Benefit Fund. The MBF will cover GHI Medicare participants for almost a quarter of the cost of their prescription drug rider. OSA will do the same for our folks as well.

As of December 1st, 1999 OSA began to pay $25 per person or $50 per family per month towards covered members' share of the premium, and as a result, the cost, to you, should go down by exactly that much.

The current cost of the GHI Medicare Drug rider is over one hundred a month, so the help is needed.

We are glad to assist our brothers and sisters and we are presently able to sustain this level of aid. Unfortunately, if drug costs continue to rise at as much as 20% a year, all Welfare Funds will have a hard time keeping up.

Next year, as collective bargaining slowly grinds forward, keep your eye on amounts offered to increase payments to unions' welfare funds. We would guess that a large increase is in store for health benefit payments, but a guess is only a guess. We will see. If you have any questions about this, please call Diana Carroll at 212-686-1229.