On February 1, 2001 the prescription drug plan administrator, Merck-Medco sent new identification cards to Bargaining Unit Employees in the mail. Enclosed with those cards was a "Health Assessment Questionnaire" that Merck- Medco requested be completed and returned to them.

The Questionnaire contains questions that are to be considered as personal and confidential which "can be released and used by the plan administrator, sponsor, employer and/or their agents in connection with the plan benefit". System Council U-4 was not consulted with nor advised of the content of the questionnaire prior to it being sent to employees.

We are therefore recommending at this time that you do not complete or return the questionnaire to Merck-Medco because of the uncertainly of how the personal and confidential information will be used.

We do however, recommend you or your family members have confidential discussions with your physician when prescriptions are written to address the issues identified in the questionnaire.

Business Manager