Within this website, you will have access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to commonly requested forms, useful highlighted links, and frequently asked questions regarding your benefit information. As always, please feel free to contact the Benefit Fund Office at (314) 656-1072 or by email at staff@stlpbenefits.org.
You may contact our Office for assistance using the below contact information:
- Email to: staff@stlpbenefits.org
- Calling (314) 656-1072 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CST.
- Mail to: St. Louis Painters Benefit Office, PO Box 1186, Maryland Heights, MO 63043-1186
Click here for Notice of Nondiscrimination and here for Notice of Availability of Language Assistance
ATTENTION: Change to UnitedHealthcare Effective January 1, 2026
Dear Participant,
Your St. Louis Painters Welfare Fund medical network is changed
effective January 1, 2026. This letter contains information about this
important change so please read it carefully and as always, pay attention to
future correspondence from the Fund.
The Trustees of the Fund take the responsibility of making
decisions about the health benefits available to you and your family very
seriously, all while being mindful of the costs associated with providing these
benefits and seeking care. The trustees of the Fund continuously review the
benefits offered and are always considering ways to improve the benefits
available to you and your family.
Effective January 1, 2026 St. Louis Painters Welfare Fund
transitioned from using the BCBS provider network to utilizing the UnitedHealthcare
Choice Plus Network for provider selection. This new arrangement with
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) is expected to generate savings for you and the Fund,
all while improving access for you and your family to hospitals, clinics,
surgeons etc.
If you see a preferred (in-network) provider you will pay
less for medical services, saving money on out-of-pocket expenses. This is your
self-funded Health Fund and any savings for the St. Louis Painters Welfare Fund
means savings individually to each participant. Effective January 1, 2026, the
Fund will utilize the UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus network, so it is
important to make sure that your current providers are in the new network.
In general, you should find this transition to the
UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus network to be seamless as most providers in the
previous BCBS network will also be found in this network, but you can start
vsit whyuhc.com/uhss to search for your providers or locate new in-network providers.
·
Find out if your primary physicians,
specialists, and hospitals are in-network, simply navigate to whyuhc.com/UHSS
– select:
o Find
a doctor or facility
o Select
the UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus network for Medical and UnitedHealthcare
Behavioral Health for Behavior Health
o If
the location that appears is not correct, click on change location. Enter a street address, city, and state,
5-digit zip code, or country. Update location.
o
Select the type of medical care or enter a
provider name or service and click Search.
New ID cards were mailed out to all active members in
December for the effective date of January 1, 2026. Use the new ID cards for
any health care services you utilize after that date. Your ID number for
prescription coverage has also been updated, so make sure you provide your new
card to your pharmacy as well.
What is NOT changing?
·
Your copays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket
maximums stay the same.
Important numbers to have:
·
Your new group number effective January 1, 2026
- UHSS Group Number: 78800586
·
Member Services Number: 314-656-1072
·
Provider Services Number: 888-830-0179
·
Prior Authorizations: 800-897-2187
In the meantime, if you have any questions relating to the
transition to United HealthCare or need a copy of your new ID card, please
contact the Fund Office at 314-656-1072 or email us at Staff@STLPBenefits.org for assistance. Please note: There is no Member Website and no member Applications provided through UnitedHealthcare for participants of the Painters Welfare Fund plan.
Sincerely,
Your Benefit Office