For years, the City of New York has tried to force its public service retirees to give up their Medicare and move to a private Medicare Advantage plan. Many retirees understood that MA means privatization. Any serious medical needs required prior approval by the insurance company; it also meant that the insurance company could decline to pay. Retirees were furious, but it seemed hopeless, especially when a few powerful unions, including the United Federation of teachers, supported the city’s plan.

Marianne Pizzitola, who retired as an Emergency Medical Technician for the Fire Department, organized resistance to the plan. She found other retirees who were opposed to giving up Medicare and educated others about the downside of making the change. Marianne created an organization called the NYC Organization of Retired Public Service Workers.

The organization lobbied elected officials, litigated, and kept up the pressure.

Today, they won! They stood up the government of the City of New York, against overwhelming odds. And they won!

Brad Lander, the Comptroller of the City of New York sent out this letter this evening:

Dear New Yorkers,

Massive news for New York City retirees: Today the New York Court of Appeals rejected shifting retirees to a Medicare Advantage plan.

Today’s ruling is the final win for the 250,000 some retirees fighting to keep the health care they worked for and were promised! Seniors will continue to have access to all providers who accept Medicare, a victory for our public sector retirees.

The City’s Medicare Advantage plan would have constrained our retirees to a smaller network with more restrictive requirements on care. Many public servants entered the municipal workforce with the promise of middle-class wages, pensions, and a retirement plan. The shift to anything less than that full promise was a hard pill to swallow.

When the Medicare Advantage contract was submitted to my office last year, we declined to register it, knowing that litigation raised doubts about the City’s authority to enter into the contract. As a matter of public policy, beyond the scope of our office’s specific Charter responsibility for contract registration, I was seriously concerned about the privatization of Medicare plans, overbilling by insurance companies, and barriers to care under Medicare Advantage.

It is vital that all our seniors—and all New Yorkers—get quality health coverage as a basic human right. At the same time, given the growing costs of health care for both retirees and active employees, we cannot ignore that there are real cost questions facing the City when it comes to health care.

Thanks,

Brad