AMBA Regional VP Alan Kearns to speak at PERI picnic Aug. 7

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GREENVILLE — PERI members and Ohio Public Employee Retirees (OPERS) who are eligible to become members, will not only enjoy a picnic style lunch at the VFW on Monday, August 7, 11:30 a.m., on Ohio Street, Greenville, but will have the opportunity to learn about and evaluate new membership insurance benefits that are now available to them as Alan Kearns, Regional Vice President of AMBA, takes the floor.

AMBA, which stands for Association Member Benefits Advisors, entered into an agreement with the State organization of Public Employee Retirees, Inc. (PERI) earlier this year. As a result, members of all 11 PERI districts throughout Ohio are eligible to participate. Each of the eleven districts includes eight chapters. Darke County’s chapter is a member of District 3. Other Chapters in Darke’s District are Champaign, Clark, Greene, Logan, Miami, Montgomery, and Preble Counties. Each chapter meets separately and plans its own programs.

Kearns (pronounced Karns) has been with AMBA for nine years. Originally from Indiana, he moved to Ohio five years ago and oversees both Ohio’s and West Virginia’s AMBA benefits. According to information published by the State office of PERI, 20 AMBA benefits are currently being offered to PERI members, only, and 10 additional benefits are being planned for implementation.

All attendees at PERI’s meeting, members or not, are welcome to ask questions. Some questions that have already come up are “How to apply for AMBA’s benefits?” “What if any are the added costs?” and “Will they take the place of the reimbursement insurance benefits that members are receiving but which according to OPERS might be either discontinued or revised at the end of 2018?”

According to Anne Vehre, Darke County Chapter President, one important question that needs answered is how AMBA’s insurance benefits will work with existing OPERS sponsored Insurance programs and Medicare Supplement plans that are already in place? Too often, she said, one insurance company will refuse payment if another insurance company is involved. Who pays WHAT becomes the big question, which can add up to unpaid and unexpected costs for unprepared insurance beneficiaries.

Non-member reservations must be in to Vivian Nieport, PERI Attendance and Contact Chairman, by calling 937-548-3961 on or before Wednesday, August 2. Members will be contacted by PERI’s calling committee.

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