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;
| MILA Premier Plan |
MILA Basic Plan |
MILA Core Plan |
| 1,300 Hours or more |
1,000 to 1,299 Hours |
700 to 999 Hours |
- 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: you must have attained the minimum age required for welfare plan coverage and you must have been credited with the years of service specified in the chart below;
| MILA Premier Plan |
MILA Basic Plan |
MILA Medicare Wrap-Around Plan |
| Age 62 with 25 or more years of credited service |
Age 58 with 25 or more years of credited service |
Age 65 with the number of years of credited service required by the local Port |
- A pensioner who is receiving a disability pension from the local Port will participate as follows:
- If the disabled pensioner commenced receiving a disability pension prior to October 1, 2014, the disability pensioner and his/her dependents will receive Premier Plan benefits until the covered individual is eligible to enroll for Medicare benefits. On that date the MILA coverage will change to the MILA Medicare Wrap-Around Plan;
- If the disabled pensioner applies to receive MILA benefits on or after October 1, 2014, the disability pensioner will qualify for MILA benefits if the disability pensioner presents proof to MILA that he or she has applied to the Social Security Administration for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Benefits or, if qualified, for regular unreduced Social Security Income Benefits.
- If the disability pensioner does not qualify for SSDI, he or she may apply to MILA for an independent medical examination to determine if he/she is disabled. If the Independent Medical Examiner denies the application, the Member may appeal based on appeal procedures.
- You are the surviving spouse of an active longshore employee. Effective August 1, 2013, if a MILA participant who is covered by virtue of credited hours dies, the surviving spouse and children will receive the MILA benefits that the deceased participant was receiving at the time of death, provided that at the time of the participant’s death, the participant was:
- Working on a job for which the $5.00 man-hour contribution was paid to MILA; and
- The participant was receiving MILA benefits at the time of death; and
- The participant would have been eligible for a disability pension based on his or her age and years of service in the Port at the time he or she died.
On the first day of the following calendar year the surviving spouse and children who continue to be covered in MILA shall begin receiving the better of (a) the MILA benefits that the deceased participant was receiving at the time of death, and (b) the MILA benefits the participant earned through the date of death.
If any Port has discontinued disability pensions, the participant’s spouse and children will be entitled to MILA benefits if at the time of his or her death, he or she would have qualified for a disability pension under the rules in the Port which were in effect before the Port discontinued disability pensions. The surviving spouse and children will receive benefits pursuant to the eligibility rules contained in the MILA Plan.
- If you are the surviving spouse of a pensioner, 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 benefits if you are the surviving spouse of a pensioner who died on or after May 1, 2008, with 25 or more years of credited service. If the pensioner had not reached age 58 when he or she died, the surviving spouse and eligible children will commence receiving MILA Basic Plan benefits when the Member would have attained the age of 58.
- 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.
