Welfare Fund

For up-to-date information about Local 21 and the Coronavirus, click here.

The Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 21 Health and Welfare Fund provides Health and Welfare benefits for Active and Retired participants and their eligible dependents including medical, prescription drug, employee assistance, life and AD&D insurance, health reimbursement account and vision benefits. 

The Welfare Fund is administered by the Fund Office in partnership with several other organizations.  If you have questions about your benefits, please refer to you Summary Plan Description.  Also, below is a quick reference for who to contact.  Click on the links below for detailed information about your benefits as an Active member or Retired member of the Local 21 Welfare Fund.

Active Plan Information
Retiree Plan Information
Notifications & Disclosures
Forms

Transparency in Coverage Rules: Machine Readable Files

The Consolidated Appropriations Act’s Transparency in Coverage Rules require group health plans to disclose on a public website information regarding in-network provider rates and historical out-of-network allowed amounts and billed charges for covered items and services in two separate machine-readable files (MRFs).  These files are updated monthly. The MRFs for the Plumbers and Steamfitters Welfare Fund Active and Pre-Medicare Retiree Health Plans are linked here.  The link directs you to a search, where you must enter the Fund's EIN number.  The Fund's EIN number is: 13-4017983.

For questions or more information about...

Enrollment and Eligibility
Contact the Fund Office at 914-737-7220 ext 120.

Hospital and Medical Benefits
Contact Anthem BlueCross BlueShield at 844-243-5566, or TDD for hearing impaired at 800-682-8786.  You may also visit www.anthembluecross.com.

Prescription Drug Benefits
Contact OptumRx at 866-863-1408 or visit www.optumrx.com.

Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
Contact the Fund Office at 914-737-7220 ext 120 or the insurer, Mutual of Omaha, at 800-775-8805.

Vision Benefits
Contact the Fund Office at 914-737-7220 ext 121

Employee Assistance Benefits
Contact Lower Hudson Valley EAP directly at 914-245-6300 or 800-EAP-2799.  You may also visit www.lowerhudsonvalleyeap.com.

Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
Contact Benefit Resource (BRI) directly at 800-473-9595 or via email at participantservices@benefitresource.com. You may also live chat with them at www.benefitresource.com. If you are a Traveler, please contact the Fund Office at 914-737-7220 ext 121 or ext 128 for more information.

Several years ago, the Welfare Fund began sending out tax forms to report Active and Early Retiree member and dependent enrollment in the Anthem (Empire) BCBS health plan.  This tax form, called the 1095-B, assisted the IRS in enforcing the mandate that everyone have adequate health insurance.

Effective January 1, 2019, Congress reduced the tax penalty to zero, so individuals will not be penalized for not having health insurance.  Because there is no longer a penalty, the IRS has indicated that the Welfare Fund must only provide these forms to individuals that request them.  

This means that the Welfare Fund will NOT automatically distribute the 1095-B tax forms this year.  In complying with recent IRS regulations, members that need (or would like) the 1095-B tax form may request them by calling the Fund Office at 914-737-7220 ext. 120.  You may also submit a request by e-mailing Amir Wirr at awirr@local21funds.com, or sending a written request to Local 21 Welfare Fund, 1024 McKinley St, Peekskill, NY 10566.