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Palmetto GBA has introduced a new beneficiary portal, MyRRMed, where users will have access to claims data, historical Medicare Summary Notices and data on who they have authorized to have access to their private health information.

Portal Functions:

At this time, you can use the portal to access:

  • Status and details of your last 22 Railroad Medicare claims on file
  • Historical Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs)

You also can view a list of individuals with whom you have authorized Railroad Medicare to grant access to your healthcare information.

Creating an Account:

Accessing MyRRMed information is easy. Just click here to follow the link and enter the following information:

  • Your Medicare number (as printed on your Medicare card)
  • Your last name
  • Your first name
  • Your date of birth
  • The effective date for Part B (as printed on your Medicare card)

Once you have entered this information and it is verified within our files, you will create a user name and password.

Logging Into the Portal:

To enhance the security of Medicare data, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) requires Palmetto GBA to adhere to several security requirements. Some of these security features require the user to verify their identity using their email address.
This is done through what’s called ‘Multi-Factor Authentication’, or ‘MFA’. MFA has the user log partially in, and then the system sends a ‘passcode’ (a unique and random set of numbers) to either your telephone by text or your email for you to enter on the portal access page. Upon each log in, users are required to enter an MFA code in addition to their password to access MyRRMed. CMS requires that Medicare contractors use MFA as a secondary level of security to protect beneficiary data.

When is the Portal Available?

MyRRMed is generally available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, certain functions are only available from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). These include accessing claims data and MSNs.

Questions?

If you have questions about using the tool, please call Palmetto’s Beneficiary Contact Center at 800-833-4455, or for the hearing-impaired, call TTY/TDD at 877-566-3572. Customer Service Representatives are available Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. EST.

Effective July 1, 2016, rail employees covered under The NRC/UTU Health and Welfare Plan and The Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan will see their monthly Health and Welfare contribution increased from the current $198.00 per month, to $228.89 per month.
Why the increase?
Since July 1, 2012 and pursuant to provisions of the September 16, 2011 National Rail Agreement, the health and welfare contribution was frozen at $198.00 per month. That agreement also contained provisions to increase the contribution amount to a maximum of $230.00 per month, effective July 1, 2016.
A national rail agreement is currently being negotiated and the new monthly contribution amount will remain in effect until modified.
How is the increase determined?
The formula used in determining the monthly employee contribution takes into account the Carriers Monthly Payment Rate for everything other than on-duty injury health care benefits, and the payment rates for benefits under The Railroad Employees National Dental Plan and The Railroad Employees National Vision Plan. The employee contribution is 15 percent of such monthly payment rates.

Although UTU members participating in the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan and the National Railway Carriers and United Transportation Union Health and Welfare Plan (NRC/UTU) have received notices that they must provide Social Security and Medicare Health Insurance Claim numbers for dependents, many have failed to do so.

If the required information is not provided as directed, the dependents will be dropped from health care coverage on Jan. 31, 2011.

 
 

Vaccine for the highly contagious H1N1 virus (commonly called “swine flu”) is now being released to the public as supplies become available. The information below will help you decide if you should obtain the vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that certain priority groups should receive the H1N1 flu vaccine. These groups are:

  • pregnant women;
  • caregivers for children younger than six months of age;
  • health care and emergency medical services personnel;
  • children and young adults from six months through 24 years old;
  • persons aged 25 through 64 years who have underlying health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, conditions that suppress the immune system, heart disease and kidney disease) that might increase their risk for flu-related complications.

In an effort to minimize the occurrence of H1N1 flu among railroad plan participants and their dependents covered under group health insurance plans GA-23111 (for former railroad employees and their dependents), the cooperating rail labor organizations and UnitedHealthcare have taken a number of steps to reduce the cost of immunization.

To that end, effective immediately, group health insurance plans provided under GA-23111 will cover the administration of the H1N1 vaccine through the end of December 2009 for covered plan participants and dependents, with no co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance payments.

Where to get the vaccine

Employees and their dependents have a broad range of options from which to choose where to get the H1N1 flu vaccine:

  • Public health clinics: The H1N1 vaccine should be available at most local public health clinics at no cost. Please call the health clinic first to make sure it has the vaccine.
  • Retail pharmacies and other clinics: Please call the pharmacy or other clinic first to make sure it has the H1N1 vaccine available.
  • Doctor’s office: Contact your primary care physician or network provider to find out if the H1N1 vaccine is available and if you should be immunized. Please note office visit co-pays will not apply if you see your doctor solely to obtain the H1N1 flu vaccine.

For the latest information on the H1N1 flu vaccine, please visit the Centers for Disease Control website (www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/) and/or contact UnitedHealthcare at (877) 201.4840; www.myuhc.com.

WASHINGTON – The UTU and 30 other trade unions have jointly written members of Congress in opposition “to any proposal” that would pay for health care reform “by altering the tax treatment of employer-provided health care.

“We believe this would be a step in the wrong direction that could jeopardize the overall reform effort,” wrote the 31 trade unions.

“Over 160 million Americans receive their health coverage through the workplace, either as an employee, dependent or retiree. Both Congress and the president have said health care reform will build on what works and have assured Americans they can keep the coverage they have if they like it. This makes good political and policy sense.

“Eliminating or capping the tax exclusion for employer-provided health care benefits – based on income, the premium level or a combination of the two – would threaten to undermine this primary source of health care coverage for most Americans.

“First, it would remove a key incentive that employers have in providing the benefit. This could lead employers either to change substantially or eliminate health care plans.

“Second, if workers have to pay what amounts to a tax increase at possibly both the federal and state levels, that could lead younger, healthier workers to pass up employer-sponsored coverage for less comprehensive plans. This would drive up the cost of coverage for older, less healthy workers, leading to the unraveling of employer-sponsored coverage.

“Contrary to the arguments put forward by proponents of proposals to eliminate or cap the tax exclusion for employer-provided health care benefits, this would not be an effective means for containing health care utilization and costs and curbing so-called “Cadillac” health care plans.

“Instead, it would simply penalize persons who happen to be in plans that have higher costs because of factors beyond their control – that is, plans with more older workers, plans covering geographic areas with higher costs or plans sponsored by small businesses that have higher administrative costs.

“Over the past several years, almost all of our members have sacrificed wages in bargaining in order to keep decent health care coverage. These hard-working people are already in immense economic distress. Imposing what amounts to a tax increase upon them is unfair and very unpopular.

“In 2009, a national survey done by Lake Research Partners, shows that 80 percent of likely voters said they are opposed to taxing health benefits. The president campaigned against eliminating the tax exclusion of health care benefits and the public overwhelmingly agreed with this position.

“It’s obvious the American people want health care costs lowered, not increased. They expect the Congress to make coverage more affordable, not less. Any result to the contrary may undermine their support for the program.

“For all the foregoing reasons, we urge you to oppose any proposals to alter the tax treatment of employer provided health care,” said the letter to Congress.