MLC VOTES TO MOVE RETIREE HEALTHCARE TO MEDICARE ADVANTAGE

On Wednesday, July 14, the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) voted to approve a contract with the NYC Office of Labor Relations (OLR) to move city retirees, including CUNY retirees, from traditional Medicare with supplemental city insurance to a privatized Medicare Advantage plan. The transition would take effect on January 1, 2022. The PSC cast a "NO" vote.

The Medicare Advantage vendor is Alliance, a partnership of Empire BlueCross BlueShield and Emblem Health.

Members can choose to go into the Medicare Advantage plan or stay with traditional Medicare but would have to pay for their own Medigap insurance.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHANGE IN RETIREE HEALTHCARE TO MEDICARE ADVANTAGE

• INFORMATION SESSION FOR PSC RETIREES. On Monday, August 30th, the Alliance, the Medicare Advantage vendor, along with a representative from New York City’s Office of Labor Relations (OLR), presented information and responded to PSC retirees’ questions. This is the second such meeting the PSC convened this summer, following the first on July 27. HERE is a video of the meeting. More on Retiree Healthcare at the Sept. 13 Chapter Meeting.
  
• ENROLLMENT GUIDE: The OLR has changed the opt out and enrollment dates to September 15 – October 31 from the original 9/1 to 10/15 dates. It has published an enrollment guide online "intended for retirees currently on the GHI/Empire BlueCross BlueShield Senior Care plan. Additional versions of the enrollment guide will be mailed to all City of New York retirees, and will be posted on [the OLR] website closer to the time of the mailings."

For more information, important links and a history of the response of the retirees chapter and PSC to the move by MLC/OLR to change retiree healthcare, click here.