Retirees from the NYC Dept. of Ed and the Medicare Advantage Scam

All retirees from the NYC Department of Education or the old Board of Ed should be aware that there is a state law protecting their health insurance benefits. You can read a relevant court decision at Bryant.

With respect to Board of Ed retirees, the City's attempt to force all medicare eligible retirees into a Medicare Advantage (MAP) plan violates this law. Unfortunately, without court action the City will get away with it. There are current court actions against this conversion but I'm not sure that they address this state law.

The suing retirees are now aware of this restriction as is the City.

The law states without reservation that the City can't reduce your

1. health insurance benefits or
2. its associated contributions

unless it does the same to all active workers at the Department of Education. See Chapter 504 below.

This permanent requirement was enacted as part of the Tier 5 law passed in 2009. It was sponsored by the NYSUT association for the purpose of protecting their retirees from unilateral actions by school districts to cut their health benefits since the retirees did not have union representation. It was carefully constructed to include reductions both in benefits and the districts' contributions paying for the benefits.

This requirement clearly blocks the new MAP plan on both counts.

First, this is a reduction in benefits. The idea that the MAP plan is equal to or better than the current plan is disproved by the fact that retirees are not being given a free choice. In fact, reirees have had the option to enroll in Medicare Advantage (PPO) plan for many years and the numbers speak for themselves. TRS retirees eligible for Medicare have overwhelmingly chosen traditional Medicare with supplemental insureance:

• 61,775 retirees are covered by Medicare and GHI Senior Care
• 4,088 retirees are covered by Medicare Advantage - HIP HMO
• 1,488 retirees are covered by Medicare Advantage - Aetna PPO

I can not understand how UFT union leaders thought they could let the City cut the throats of their former members and eventually their current members.

In addition, most retirees who wind up in the MAP plan will have to buy their Part D drug coverage from the MAP vendor, Alliance/Emblemhealth.

Second, the City is clearly reducing its contributions to the retirees health insurance benefits. Except for a trivial first year monthly charge, the City is paying nothing for the MAP plan and it may actually be getting a kick back from Alliance/Emblemhealth. It is not even clear that the City has any standing in this contract because of possible lack of consideration from the City.

JUSTIFICATION

The following is the justification for the one year extension (Chapter 30) of this law in 2009. Chapter 504 made the protection permanent.

JUSTIFICATION: Health insurance coverage for school district retirees has been protected from unilateral reduction since 1994 under provisions of a law which is subject to annual renewal.

The law provides that school districts may reduce neither the level of health insurance coverage nor their contribution toward its cost for retirees, unless the reduction applies equally to active employees. This protects retirees by in effect making them part of the collective bargaining process.

The law does not, however, prevent school districts from taking cost-cutting measures, so long as these apply equally to active employees and retirees. There has been no evidence of harm befalling school districts over the past decade as the result of this requirement for fair treatment of their retirees.

It is clear what the policy is in New york State about treating retirees equally with active workers when it comes to health insurance coverage.

Chapter 504 of the Laws of 2009

Chapter 504 of the Laws of 2009 - Part B - Section 14

§ 14. Section 1 of chapter 729 of the laws of 1994 relating to affecting the health insurance benefits and contributions of retired employees of school districts and certain boards, as amended by chapter 30 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:

Section 1.

From on and after June 30, 1994 [until May 15, 2010,]
a school district, board of cooperative educational services, vocational education and extension board or
a school district as enumerated in section 1 of chapter 566 of the laws of 1967, as amended,

shall be prohibited from diminishing the health insurance benefits provided to retirees and their dependents or
the contributions such board or district makes for such health insurance coverage
below the level of such benefits or
contributions made on behalf of such retirees and their dependents
by such district or board

unless a corresponding diminution of benefits or contributions is effected from the present level during this period by such district or board from the corresponding group of active employees for such retirees.