On behalf of the Board of Directors of the FBA, I would like to thank those of our membership that took the time to attend the recent semi-annual meeting of the membership. Your participation in YOUR organization is crucial to its success.

During this meeting many topic were discussed regarding the status and operations of the FBA. Focus was emphasized on our newly adopted investment strategies and our projected financial liabilities. With that, a great deal of discussion was had regarding the immense expense involved in funding the medical reimbursement benefit. With the continuously rising costs of healthcare and an alarmingly indeterminate future posed by the City’s self-funded insurance plans, medical reimbursements pose a serious and significant threat to the perpetuation of the Benevolent fund.

Having been founded as a widows and orphans fund, the bereavement benefit is the core purpose and benefit of the Firemen’s Benevolent Association. With that benefit in itself, to date, not being fully funded it is imperative that measures be taken to limit the financial liabilities that may imperil our organization.

To address these situations the body has ratified several new regulatory bylaws to control the expenditures relating to medical reimbursements. The following is a brief explanation of the newly implemented bylaws:

  1. Implementation of a $1,000.00 per incident cap on medical reimbursements. This will provide significant financial assistance relating to out-of-pocket expenses for those unforeseen incidents and will serve to regulate liabilities to aid in the longevity of benefits.
  2. An exemption to the $1,000.00 cap has been ratified for the treatment of any diagnosed form of cancer. This exemption relates only to the $1,000.00 cap, all other conditions and/or requirements set forth in the bylaws remain status quo.
  3. A new 3 year period of limitation has been established to regulate future unfunded liabilities. This will require any member who seeks reimbursement of medical expenses to file their claim within 3 years of the original date of incident. Any claim older than 3 years will be ineligible for reimbursement.
  • An amnesty period for this new time restriction is in place until December 31, 2018. Any member who wishes to file a claim for medical reimbursement that is older than 3 years has until the December 31st, 2018 deadline to submit ALL of the required documentation to qualify for reimbursement.

For a complete and updated PDF copy of the FBA’s newly ratified bylaws visit the BYLAWS tab in the members section.

For a copy of the minutes from the general membership meeting please visit the DOCUMENTS tab in the members section.

Questions/concerns? Drop us an email or feel free to give us a call!

Thank you for your support.

This is YOUR organization and YOUR participation is paramount for its success!