Manhattan: The Daily News got it all wrong on the city’s Medicare Advantage plan (“A new roadMAP,” editorial, April 1). You note the purported fact that Aetna for now “requires prior authorization for only about a fifth of the procedures that it typically does.” This is a substantial reduction in services compared to traditional Medicare, which has very few and they can be added back. Let’s be blunt: prior authorizations will result in denials of and delays in care which will be fatal to retirees.
The mayor’s administration unilaterally reports “facts” without verifying. For example, the city reports “88% of providers treating… retirees are in the Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO plan network.” This dangerously misleading figure, only means 88% of retirees’ current GHI/EBCBS doctors are in the Aetna network rather than identifying how many doctors in America are. Creative accounting omits that as retirees need more care, they will need more doctors.
Vulnerable retirees who reside in continuing care retirement communities which refuse to accept Medicare Advantage plans, and those who receive home health care via Medicaid long-term care programs will lose care. Retirees will have to leave their homes and people on Medicaid will be stuck in bureaucracy.
We believe that any adverse consequence is too many. The City Council can fix this. Adopt our simple legislation that says the city will offer retirees at least one Medigap plan with...
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