Who is Eligible
You will be eligible to participate in the MILA National Health Plan if:
- You are an active bargaining unit Member who has earned a specified number of credited hours in the prior contract year;
- You are a pensioner who retired from active work in the industry and immediately began receiving a pension based on years of service as a bargaining unit Member and your years of service were sufficient to qualify under the local port rules for welfare benefits in retirement. A pensioner also must have attained the minimum age required for welfare plan coverage in retirement as specified in the Master Contract;
- You are a surviving spouse of an active longshore employee or a pensioner and you qualify for health care benefits under the rules of your local port in effect as of October 1, 2004. If you are not eligible for benefits under the rules in effect on October 1, 2004, then, effective May 1, 2008, you will qualify for health care benefits if you are the surviving spouse of an active longshore employee or a pensioner who dies on or after May 1, 2008, with 25 or more years of credited service; or
- Certain other former bargaining unit Members, non-bargaining unit Members and Members of other organizations recognized by the Trustees may also be eligible to participate in the Plan.
As described in the section entitled, When You Become Covered under the Plan, your eligibility as an active
Member of one of the available three Plans depends on the number of credited hours that you receive during the
prior contract year. Your eligibility for coverage as a pensioner depends upon your length of service in the industry
when you retire, your age at retirement, the type of retirement you elect and your eligibility to enroll in Medicare.
