The Trustees of the NAS Metal Trades Welfare Fund announce the following benefit changes. While the focus of the changes is intended to encourage everyone to use doctors and hospitals who participate in the PPO in your area, these changes affect everyone's benefits.

Effective January 2002, the basic eligibility rules of the Metal Trades Welfare Plan will be changed as follows:

Termination of Eligibility for Active Employees
Eligibility for benefits will terminate on the last day of the fourth month following the last two consecutive months in which you are credited with 80 or more hours of work with at least one hour in the second of those two months ("Continuing Eligibility period"), or if earlier, the date you cease to be available for work covered by the Plan as verified by your local union.

Reinstatement
During the first 12 months after losing eligibility, you will be eligible again on the first of the month after two consecutive months in which you are credited with a total of 80 or more hours of work, provided that you have remained available for work covered by the Plan as verified by your Local Union. After 12 months of ineligibility, you must again qualify under the Initial Eligibility rule.

Disability Extension
An employee who becomes Disabled while eligible for benefits may extend eligibility for up to four additional months while the Disability continues. Regular benefits will continue for you and your eligible dependents. In no event can your eligibility be longer than 8 months from the last two consecutive months in which you worked 80 or more hours with at least one hour in the second of these two months.

Effective July 1, 2002, the initial eligibility rule will be changed as follows:

Initial Eligibility for Employees Covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement
You become eligible for benefits on the first of the month after you are credited with a total of 600 hours of work under a Collective Bargaining Agreement or a participation agreement within a period of no more than six consecutive months.

All of the following benefits are effective January 1, 2002.

The Lifetime Maximum benefit for all Plans is increased to $500,000 per individual.

The Private Health Care System (PHCS) PPO is now expanded into the following states:

Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, the portions of Missouri not previously covered by the St. Louis PPO (Healthlink) or the Kansas City PPO (HealthNet), North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia. In addition to the above states, the entire state of Virginia will now be covered by the Alliance PPO.

Participants and their families in these states are now subject to the benefits differential should they choose to receive their health care outside of the PPO network. Those affected by this expansion will receive directories of doctors and hospitals in their area. All participants with access to the PHCS PPO can call PHCS at 1-800-457-1403 for participating doctors and hospitals in their area. You can also access the PHCS internet web site at http://www.phcs.com/. At their web site, you can search for doctors that are near you or you can search to see whether a specific doctor is in the network.

For Plan A benefits when seeking care within the PPO network (In-Network) the individual deductible will remain $150. When seeking care outside of the PPO network (Out-of-Network), the individual deductible will be $550. The Out-of-Network family deductible is three times the individual deductible or $1,650 per calendar year. Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C benefits are also changed as shown in the table below.

For Level 1 benefits the In-Network co-insurance level will be changed to cover 80% of covered charges. The Out-of-Network co-insurance level will be changed to cover 65% of covered charges. Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C benefits are also changed as shown in the table below.

The portion of covered medical expenses not paid by the NAS Metal Trades Welfare Plan (not including the deductible or the costs of treatment for mental and nervous disorders) will not exceed $1,400 per calendar year for individuals when seeking care In-network. The Out-of-Network Out of Pocket Maximum is $3,000 per individual per year. Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C benefits are also changed as shown in the table below.

The Co-insurance level for Prescription drugs will be 75% under all levels of benefits. This means that participants will be responsible for 25% of the cost of all prescriptions. The covered expense for maintenance prescription drugs continues to be limited to the cost of the drug through the Fund's mail order pharmacy.

Plan A dental care will be subject to an annual deductible of $75 per individual. The Plan will add a family deductible under the Dental Plan of benefits. The family dental deductible is three times the individual deductible or $225 per year.