On Wednesday morning nine municipal retirees, along with the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, filed a class action lawsuit against the city, Mayor Eric Adams, the city’s Office of Labor Relations and Department of Education, and other parties over the city’s move to switch retirees from supplemental health insurance to Medicare Advantage plans.
The suit alleges that the city has been trying to “escape” its supposed health care obligation to retirees–paying for their coverage in full–by switching them to Advantage plans. City officials have said the Medicare Advantage switch will save the city hundreds of millions of dollars in premiums annually–but retirees argue those savings could in turn jeopardize their health care and financial security.
Lawsuit documents chronicle the last several years of the Medicare Advantage saga between retirees, the city and unions, which seemed to conclude in March, when the city signed an Advantage contract with Aetna that would automatically enroll retirees in the plan unless they opted out, and eliminated supplemental plans.
Now, the plaintiffs allege that this development has caused them irreparable injury; one plaintiff said he is considering purchasing a Medigap supplemental plan on the open market, but can’t afford the minimum $800 monthly premium. Other plaintiffs allege their doctors won’t accept the Medicare Advantage plan.
“Had he known that the City would renege on its health care promise, he would have made very...
Hyderabad: BRS leader Aedla Sudhakar Reddy strongly criticised the statements of HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath regarding the status of Bathukammakunta. The official had claimed that the place...