Another Message from Mike Mulgrew to Retirees

Mulgrew wrote to retirees again about the Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan. Or Mulgrew and Tom Murphy did. Or someone did, and put Murphy and Mulgrew’s names on top.*

Two city unions bully all the others into swallowing Aetna's new premium‑free plan

The Municipal Labor Committee, the umbrella organization representing 100-plus city labor unions, voted today to approve the new plan. Well, mostly UFT and DC37 did. Dozens of unions said no, but screw them. What do they know about bending over and kissing our mayor's swaggery ass?  We said all along that any new premium-free health plan for Medicare-eligible city retirees must be as good as or better than GHI Senior Care. It isn't, but the fact is we don't really care. We made an agreement to save the city money in 2018, and the only way to do it, frankly is to toss you under the bus. We've rented a bunch of buses for Lobby Day, and we will be by your place to toss you under any moment now, when we get back from Albany. We understand that the idea of navigating a new health care plan can be daunting. Fortunately, we make several times your salary, and you dues-payers fund second pensions for all of us. We make much MUCH more than most DC37 employees, so we can buy whatever we like. We aren't daunted at all. And those of you in service? We have a request for proposals to replace YOUR health care too!

When will the new plan take effect? Is there any way I can weasel out of this? You know Medicare Advantage sucks, don't you? Of course we know! But forget about weaseling out. We made the decision, you didn't vote on it, and we know what's good for you. Or at least we know what saves money for Eric Adams. The new plan is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1, 2023. All Medicare-eligible city retirees and their eligible dependents, except those retirees enrolled in the HIP VIP Premier Medicare Plan, will be automatically enrolled in the Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO plan on Sept. 1, 2023. Kiss your Medicare goodbye, dues-payers. What about prescription drugs? Can you get me street drugs so I can deal with this enormous betrayal by our ostensible leaders? There are a few guys around the corner from 52 Broadway we buy from sometimes. Usually we just get them delivered, because at our salary, we can afford that kind of service. Aetna will also ensure a seamless transition from your current prescription plan to its Medicare Rx administered by SilverScript. If you don't wish to make this change, too bad for you. MLC has committed to it and it saves money for Eric Adams. As your union leaders, we are in the exclusive business of saving money for Eric Adams. If you and your family don't like it, you can get one of those bus rides to Canada and hope to find it cheaper there. Beginning on Sept. 1, 2023, the cost of the Aetna optional prescription drug rider will be $103.50 monthly. The cost of the rider increases to $135.50 in 2024. It increases to $351.10 in 2025. It increases to $153,000.34 in 2026. Not only that, but once this agreement sunsets, we can pretty much change any or all conditions, and save even MORE money for Eric Adams! Why are you doing this, you heartless bastards? We made a commitment to Eric Adams, and that's WAY more important than any implied commitment to you. To continue receiving premium-free health care from the City of New York after Sept. 1, 2023, you must be in this new City of New York Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO plan or the HIP VIP Premier Medicare plan, which is available only to city retirees in the New York City metro area. This is the fault of those goddamn rump retirees. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with our 2018 decision to give 600 million dollars a year forever to the city in exchange for a three year contract that was around cost of living. In his ruling in the Medicare Advantage litigation, Judge Lyle Frank interpreted the city’s current administrative code to require that any health plans the city offers retirees be premium-free, eliminating the option of pay-up plans. The UFT urged the City Council to amend the administrative code so that other we could make YOU pay for what we promised you, forever, that you'd get free. And just to make it fair, we charged a rate that was unaffordable for most city retirees. Because we enabled this, even though we blame the retirees, the city has said it will no longer provide GHI Senior Care. As your union leaders, you can count on us. When the city removes your rights, we say, "Thank you Mayor Swagger, may I have another." Holy crap, this sucks! Can I opt out of the frigging Aetna plan? No. Well yes, but if you do you're pretty much on your own. If you opt out of the City of New York Health Benefits Program, your dependents will also lose their city health coverage and you will not be eligible for the city's annual Medicare Part B premium and/or IRMAA reimbursements (if applicable). If you go with traditional Medicare, you will be subject to Medicare deductibles and coinsurance, and if you wish to maintain prescription drug coverage, you will need to find a Medicare Part D drug plan. If you go this route, we strongly recommend you purchase a Medigap insurance plan to supplement traditional Medicare. And good luck paying for that as well. It will be prohibitively expensive to opt out. Unless you're a UFT bigshot with two pensions. Then it's no problem at all. A WIN-WIN! For us, anyway. You're screwed. Unless those rump retiree bastards come up with yet another winning lawsuit.  *Introductory note from Jonathan Halabi