The ruling resulted in Empire BlueCross BlueShield rescinding its agreement with the city to administer the Medicare Advantage Plan in July, leaving no Medicare Advantage Plan for unions and retirees to agree to, and in November, when a judge ordered the city to approve it. ruled that the insurance premium had to be paid. All costs of a retiree’s health insurance plan, including supplemental plans, regardless of the plan selected by the retiree.
Since 2018, battles have raged involving the city, unions, and retirees, including more than 17,000 members of the New York City Public Service Retirees Group, which formed against the plan. Also, the local labor commission has agreed to seek to switch retirees from supplementary plans to advantage plans.
The city’s motivations for switching include the potential to save up to $600 million annually as retiree insurance is covered by the federal government. As it stands, about 180,000 city retirees and their dependents are enrolled in additional senior care plans administered by EmblemHealth that cost her nearly $200 per month in city insurance premiums.
A retiree group will file a lawsuit against the city in 2021, claiming that retirees are entitled to the benefits they agreed to when they chose to work for the city, and that the Supplemental Plan provides more coverage than the Advantage Plan. Did. The retirees also rejected the city’s initial proposal. That choice expired in November, when a court ruled that she must pay the full retiree plan by interpreting the city’s administrative statute.
Marian Picitra, head of the Retirees Organization, upheld the court’s November ruling. She didn’t want the city council to change the code to protect retirees.
According to Scheinman’s decision, the city council must amend the administrative law within the next 45 days to allow retirees to continue choosing supplemental plans. Otherwise, you will not be able to use SeniorCare.
Today, Picitra said in a statement on behalf of her organization, “Ms Scheinman represents the interests of the City and the MLC, neither of which represent the interests of retirees. But if the city tries to violate retirees’ rights again, retirees will have to again seek judicial intervention to protect their health care rights.”
she said Cranes If the city council changes the administrative law, the retiree organization will “sue again to damage our interests”.
Meanwhile, Michael Mulgrew, president of the National Teachers Federation, which represents nearly 200,000 members, said giving retirees options is a priority.
“Medicare Advantage gives us the freedom to know that you can design and put something into your plan without us knowing anything. [is] It’s preventing us from adding more to our plans, and that will be our goal,’ he said.
When asked about the administrative law, he said, “We want to give retirees that option, and we hope the city council will act on their behalf.”
This is a developing story. Details will be added as they come in.
Scheinman writes that the effective date for the Medicare Advantage program is July 1, 2023.
