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2004

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Mike Durkin - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

ACDelco & GM Parts Consolidation - Early Retirement Packages - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

If you can provide any of the information John is requesting, please E-mail him at:    jd4u2@aol.com or E-mail spoacdc1@aol.com .

Ron Humerickhouse Update - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

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Submitted By Jim Conlee

Ron Humerickhouse - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

GM Retiree Conference Call - New Procedures For GM Benefits - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Walt Nichols - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Ken Parker - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

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Frosty Kemerly - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Iris Cole -  See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Click Here: The Detroit News Article 10-24-04

Subj:    Benefit Enrollment Kits 
Date:     10/22/2004 6:05:51 PM Central Daylight Tim
From:    SPOACDC1
To:         Swhiteherse

Hello Susan,

Some people, including myself have not received their enrollment kits. The deadline to enroll has been extended until November 30, 2004. You will soon receive a letter from GM advising the details of this situation.

We hope this has been helpful to you. Please visit our site often and join our group if you enjoy the web site.

Regards,

Jack Dickinson
spoacdc1@aol.com
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj:    Home Page 
Date:    10/22/2004 5:17:38 PM Central Daylight Time
From:   Swhiteherse
To:        SPOACDC1

Have the health insurance plans been sent out yet for next years enrollment?  I have not received one yet nor has my mom.  Thanks.

Susan

Paul Lochner - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

As of 10-21-04, Overthehillcarpeople.com  has not received a reply to the letter shown below, which was written on behalf of GM retirees. We hope GM and its representatives will extend the courtesy of a response to their retirees very soon.

Overthehillcarpeople.com
5184 Caldwell Mill Road
Suite 204, Box 190
Hoover, Alabama 35244
August 29, 2004

To:
National Benefit Center
P. O. Box 14692
Lexington, Kentucky 40512-4692

RE: Limited Network of Vision Coverage Providers

To Whom It May Concern:

Some of our members have brought to our attention their dissatisfaction with the current vision coverage provided by General Motors. I am attaching a copy of one of the e-mails sent to our discussion board, along with a reply to that e-mail posted on our board. Both letters address the problem of Cole’s limited network of vision coverage providers.

My family has personally had a similar experience. The optometrist whom we had used for several years is not on Cole’s list of providers. My wife has used the Sear’s Optical Center but did not feel she received the same personal, qualified attention she had received from our previous provider.

I hope that you will take these comments into consideration when reviewing the vision coverage for General Motors. Continuity of care is very important, as is the confidence that comes from established provider/client relationships.

I invite you to visit our website @ www.overthehillcarpeople.com. This letter will be posted on our website’s Discussion Board as will your response once it is received.

Once you enter the website, the letters and your response can be found by clicking on the Discussion Bulletin Board, then General Discussions, and then Vision Coverage on Our GM Insurance Program.

Thank you for your consideration of the above request, and we look forward to a response to these current vision coverage complaints.

Sincerely,

Jack C. Dickinson

Attachments (2)

Cc: Jeffery Johnson
Director of Employee Benefits & Relations
General Motors Corporation
Code # 482-B37-A68
200 RenCen
Detroit, MI 48265

Attachments:
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2004 5:57 pm Post subject: Vision Coverage On Our GM Insurance Program????Problems????

Subj: Questions
Date: 8/4/2004 5:03:00 PM Central Daylight Time
From: jon.presnell@verizon.net
To: Spoacdc1@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)

I am having a real problem with Vision Coverage on our Insurance program. The Optometrist ( two) who have been treating my family for years will not accept Coles Vision Coverage which we now have. Coles will supply you with a list of participating providers, none of which are any where near my town. Plus I am not comfortable dealing with a store front eye clinic that graduated last in his class from a last place college. But he will accept the GM plan.

Granted they were the low bidder and GM bought into the program but I do not think it fair to the employees and retirees who are paying their premiums.

Question, Have their been other complaints and what can be done about it?

Jon K. Presnell


Marcap
Joined: 31 Jan 2004
Posts: 2
Location: Summerville, South Carolina
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2004 10:43 am Post subject: GM Vision Coverage

Cole Vision Coverage may be the low bidder, but I don't know if it is worth the cost. Going to a Sears optical dept. for an eye check-up doesn't give me much confidence in the quality of the eye check. I prefer to go to a real ophthalmologist, especially at my age, for an eye check. Of course no real ophthalmologists accept Cole.

Cole pays a portion of the cost for the new glasses, but again I don't have confidence in a Sears optical dept. And, of course, no real Optical store accepts Cole either. So I bought my glasses from the local optician and then submitted the out of network claim form. I did get a portion back.

Seriously considering dropping the vision coverage next year. I will wait and see how much I get back from Cole for the glasses I bought this year.

Marc Apperman
 

Over The Hill Group Song - Click here to hear: http://webs.lanset.com/lindenschmitt/epix/OverTheHillSwing.htm

Alex Gray

George Reed - Auto Electric & Carb. - Birmingham, Alabama - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

FDA News

FDA Issues Public Health Advisory on Vioxx as its Manufacturer Voluntarily Withdraws the Product

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today acknowledged the voluntary withdrawal from the market of Vioxx (chemical name rofecoxib), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) manufactured by Merck & Co. FDA today also issued a Public Health Advisory to inform patients of this action and to advise them to consult with a physician about alternative medications.

Merck is withdrawing Vioxx from the market after the data safety monitoring board overseeing a long-term study of the drug recommended that the study be halted because of an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, among study patients taking Vioxx compared to patients receiving placebo. The study was being done in patients at risk of developing recurrent colon polyps.

"Merck did the right thing by promptly reporting these findings to FDA and voluntarily withdrawing the product from the market," said Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Lester M. Crawford. "Although the risk that an individual patient would have a heart attack or stroke related to Vioxx is very small, the study that was halted suggests that, overall, patients taking the drug chronically face twice the risk of a heart attack compared to patients receiving a placebo."

Dr. Crawford added that FDA will closely monitor other drugs in this class for similar side effects. "All of the NSAID drugs have risks when taken chronically, especially of gastrointestinal bleeding, but also liver and kidney toxicity. They should only be used continuously under the supervision of a physician."

FDA approved Vioxx in 1999 for the reduction of pain and inflammation caused by osteoarthritis, as well as for acute pain in adults and for the treatment of menstrual pain. It was the second of a new kind of NSAID (Cox-2 selective) approved by FDA. Subsequently, FDA approved Vioxx to treat the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in adults and children.

At the time that Vioxx and other Cox-2 selective NSAIDs were approved, it was hoped that they would have a lower risk of gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding than other NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen and naproxen). Vioxx is the only NSAID demonstrated to have a lower rate of these side effects.

Merck contacted FDA on September 27, 2004, to request a meeting and to advise the agency that the long-term study of Vioxx in patients at increased risk of colon polyps had been halted. Merck and FDA officials met the next day, September 28, and during that meeting the company informed FDA of its decision to remove Vioxx from the market voluntarily.

In June 2000, Merck submitted to FDA a safety study called VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) that found an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, in patients taking Vioxx compared to patients taking naproxen. After reviewing the results of the VIGOR study and other available data from controlled clinical trials, FDA consulted with its Arthritis Advisory Committee in February 2001 regarding the clinical interpretation of this new safety information. In April 2002, FDA implemented labeling changes to reflect the findings from the VIGOR study. The labeling changes included information about the increase in risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke.

Recently other studies in patients taking Vioxx have also suggested an increased risk of cardiovascular events. FDA was in the process of carefully reviewing these results, to determine whether further labeling changes were warranted, when Merck informed the agency of the results of the new trial and its decision to withdraw Vioxx from the market.

Additional information about this withdrawal of Vioxx, as well as questions and answers for patients, is available online at http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/vioxx/default.htm.

####

FDA Public Health Advisory
Questions and Answers
Merck & Co. Press Release

Jean & Don Browning - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Ray Powell - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Dave Casey Update - 9-03-04 - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Cole Vision Coverage Complaints - See "Discussion Bulletin Board" - "wwwoverthehillcarpeople.com Ask The Tough Questions"

Pamala Miller - GM - SPO World Headquarters - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Dave Casey Update - 8-27-04 - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Mike & Kathy Bommarito - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Dave Casey update 8-17-04 - "See Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Lewis Henry 8-16-04 - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

Dave Casey Update - 8-13-04 - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News"

John Terzaghi - "See Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

Ron Humerickhouse - 6-08-04 - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

Carmen Hagen 6-07-04 - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

Subj: Should Americans Buy American? 
Date: 6/2/2004 2:07:45 PM Central Daylight Time
From:Gsulhi

To: SPOACDC1

Your survey was a good idea. But it missed to ask the key question. It asked the emotional aspect of buying a product. Walked into trap of foreign is the “best” image. Foreign is not the best. It is an illusion created by Washington politicians. Washington strangulated American manufacturers with regulations while open the doors and arms to foreign manufacturers. Question should be: would you exchange your job for a foreign product?

Because that is the bottom line. Buy foreign and you are exporting your job.

Mario DeCastro E-Mail 6-01-04 "See Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

5-30-04
DDG Member  makes hostile comments about the retirees/members of  overthehillcarpeople.com !  See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."
Dick Freni's Motorcycle Gift -  "Discussion Bulletin Board" - Click On
 "General Discussions" in the "Discussion Bulletin Board." Or click here to go to the "Discussion Bulletin Board" -
then click on "General Discussions."

Alex Gray - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

5-19-04 - New ACDelco Organization Chart! - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

E-Mail – 5-18-04 brydal@aol.com
Could anyone working at the Martinsburg W.VA. SPO be so kind as to tell me, if they know if there are any pending retirements at your facility. I am an extended area hire currently second on the list to go there. I would really appreciate your help in finding out if people are retiring in the near future.Thank you for your help Brydal.

Thomas J. Krieg - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

E-Mail 5-16-04

AOL Members, don't forget to register for your GM AOL 50% discount on AOL membership. If you are already a member of AOL, simply go to keyword "GM Retiree" to register. If you are joining AOL, simply call 1-800-234-1685 now to take advantage of this special offer.

Jack Dickinson
spoacdc1@aol.com
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
 

New Benefit Information! E-mail 5-12-04 From Linda - Click here or See "Discussion Bulletin Board" - "General Discussions" or click on any of the retirement club names.  Thanks Linda!

109 Year Old GM Retiree Still Receives Pension! - See "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" - "Personnel News."

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