March 24, 2023
Dear PSC members and retirees,
I am writing to urge you to take two immediate actions to protect the current premium free supplemental coverage that all New York City retirees enjoy.
- First, send this PSC email to Mayor Adams to ask him to choose “Option C” under the new Aetna contract.This option would preserve the current supplemental coverage arrangement, and only came to light when the contract was posted on March 10th (see details below).
- Second, retirees across the city are calling the Mayor and asking him to choose option C. Please join them! Instructions on how to call in are here. It will only take 1-2 minutes!
As soon as the proposed Aetna contract was posted on March 10th, the PSC reviewed it, and discovered details that we believe were not disclosed when it was under consideration by the MLC. The proposed Aetna contract allows the City to continue to offer supplemental Medicare coverage such as Senior Care at no cost to retirees. Contrary to what the public and perhaps the Council were led to believe, Aetna does not require that Senior Care be eliminated or offered only at full cost.
Time is short for Mayor Adams to elect this option provided in the Aetna contract. Under the contract’s terms, the City has until April 1 to notify Aetna if it plans to continue Senior Care or other supplemental coverage free of charge. Please email and call right now. Notifying Aetna by April 1 will enable retirees to opt out of Aetna MA effective September 1, and to do so without relinquishing their Medicare Part B and IRMAA reimbursements or their Welfare Fund benefits.
Given the importance that many City Councilmembers placed on “choice” in their public statements about retiree health care, we believe that Councilmembers should also be made aware of this provision of the contract so your email to the mayor will be forwarded to your councilmember.
There is no time to waste (We have barely a week as of this writing). Please email and call today!
(For latest updates on this healthcare issue, click here.)
Published: March 24, 2023
