Articles of Incorporation can be found -Here-

President: Marianne Pizzitola FDNY EMS Local 2507 Vice President: Robert Ganley NYPD SBA Secretary: Michelle Robbins FDNY EMS Local 3621 Treasurer: Jim Rallis Community Outreach and Organizing Coordinator: Michelle Keller Local 375 Administrative Board Ken Dolan FDNY UFOA John Powers Local 924 Jack Torre NYPD LBA Sue Dodell Campaign Finance Counsel Trustee: Lee Reeves NYPD SBA Advisor: Michael Antwerp UFT, PTPM Facebook Group Advisor: James Kerr HHC Advisor: John Lewis DC 37 Retirees/Florida Advisor: John Murphy NYCERS Webmaster: Joe Mizrahi DOH

ALL NYC public service retirees, regardless of agency, union or rank, are represented by this organization.

Pollock Cohen LLP 60 Broad Street 24th Floor New York, NY 10004 Lead Attorney: Steve Cohen Walden Macht & Haran LLP 250 Vesey Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281 Attorney: Jacob Gardener

NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees (for Benefit Preservation)

Our organization—along with a number of city unions and retiree groups—are opposing the change and advocating for retirees to maintain their current coverage through original Medicare and city-funded supplemental insurance. We are mobilizing both city retirees and active workers to advocate for maintaining the benefits to which they are entitled and are in the process of preparing legal actions to support this outcome. Please watch this page for updates and consider supporting us by calling, writing letters and with a donation (see nycretirees.org/donate-subscribefor instructions on how to do this)

A list of all of the Case Filings can be found on the Court's Website. And Check the links to all three cases on the Latest Developments page. To read the latest filing use the web page's paging on the upper right ( Page: 1 2 3 >> Last ), select "Last" to see the latest date's filings

We have two email addresses: NYCOrgofpublicserviceretirees@gmail.com -or- retirees@nycretirees.org

Visit the Office of Labor Relations

The group has a video channel on YouTube.

The Unions are currently negotiating the in-service workers/under 65 year old plan right now. They are trying to eliminate all choices and leave one plan. The choice will either be Aetna or Emblem/United. Reminder only Emblem is a union shop.

Please click here to Subscribe to receive e-mail messages. If you previously subscribed check your SPAM or PROMOTIONAL folders, the message could have been posted there. Add our address to your contact list. Some have also advised that Email from NYCOrgofPublicServiceRetirees@gmail.com (that's where the Newsletter is sent from) was Blocked by their Email Service. Please check your service and unblock it. If the above does not work...Go to the Subscribe page. Enter your email and the other information requested. If your registration was previously accepted you will get an error message indicating that you have previously registered. In that case go to the Contact Us page and let us know. If you get a Success message then you should now be registered.

You can contribute via: PayPal -or- Mail a Check or Money Order to: NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees c/o JSH Accounting Services, LLC PO Box 143538 Fayetteville, GA 30214 -or- Zelle using email: NYCOrgofpublicserviceretirees@gmail.com -or- VENMO using @NYCRetirees

The judge has issued a restraining order to Emblem directing them to stop reflecting the co pays as payable by the patient and to pick up that fee effective 1/12/23. Any co pays you have already paid will not be refunded until we win the case. Most of the providers have been cooperating when our members explain it to them and give them a copy of the order. Give them a copy of the order and ask the billing folks to call Emblem and verify what you are telling them. (if need be ask for a supervisor in billing or mention it to your doctor and ask him to have the billing folks call Emblem). If after that, they still insist on collecting the co pay we recommend you pay it and keep the receipt (it will be refunded when/if we win). A copy of the court may be found herehttps://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=UG2jCDAtxxldVYwbkU6sDg==

While the administrators and moderators are able to answer a myriad of questions our focus is on our legal battle to get the city’s plan overturned. We know you often have questions which are tangential to this. Here is a list of resources you can contact for those tangential issues: 1- Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or medicare.gov 2- CMS:1-800-877-267-2323 or cms.gov 3- Social Security:1-800-772-1213 or ssa.gov 4- OLR (New York City Office of Labor Relations) 1-212-306-7200 or healthbenefits@olr.nyc.gov [you are better off with e-mail, they do respond but ask only one question per e-mail they can’t handle compound questions] 5- Emblem Senior Care: 1-212-501-4444 6- Empire Hospital Senior Care: 1-800-433-9592 7- Unions: We have many unions represented so check your union cards and letters for the contact information.8- AETNA: Visit AETNA's website at CONY.AetnaMedicare.com to learn more about the Aetna Medicare Advantage (PPO) plan to look up providers for information on upcoming teleconferences, webinars and in-person meetings to obtain other important information about the plan Contact the Aetna NYC Retiree dedicated call center at 1-855-648-0389 (TTY: 711), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

From our New Flyers! page you can now Download and Share any of our Ads, Flyers and Animated GIFs...You can even view some of our Morale Raising videos and share the link to that page with your friends who may not be on FB or Social Media. If there is something on our Facebook page that you might like to be shareable or have any suggestions for that page, please drop us an email and we will try to include it on the page. ENJOY!

Health Benefits at the Office of Labor Relations: Questions and Answers about your IRMAA, or Medicare Part B Reimbursements. With a nifty little video too! https://www.nyc.gov/site/olr/health/retiree/health-retiree-medb-irmaa.page

These questions applied to the original MAPP proposed by the City and MLC, which has been withdrawn. The information has been left for historical purposes. Please see the "Aetna FAQs" for information on the current proposed MAPP. Should you have any specific questions please reach-out to Retirees@nycretirees.org.

Since the City's original MAPP Plan has not been implemented the following MAPP related Questions and Answers are listed below for historical information and purposes only. Should you have any specific questions please reach-out to Retirees@nycretirees.org.

First and foremost, read all the literature available to compare both plans. Traditional Medicare is administered by the federal government and Medigap (currently Senior Care) is administered by Emblem Health. The Medicare Advantage Plan (MAP) is administered by a for-profit insurance company.

MAP will require pre-approvals on many procedures and tests that are not required under Traditional Medicare with Senior Care. Services requiring pre-approvals can be found in the Evidence of Coverage (EOC). Download the EOC below:

In 2014 and again in 2018, the Unions and Labor Relations agreed to Health care savings. The Health Benefits Stabilization fund was raided of approximately $3 billion to fund raises for active employees. The Stabilization Fund was created in 1984 in order to equalize costs between the city’s two health insurance options at the time, GHI and HIP—each of which are offered to city workers at no cost. 2 In addition, the Stabilization Fund ensured that the rates paid by the city were predictable for budgeting purposes. The city’s administrative code stipulates that the city must pay the HIP HMO rate for all employee health benefits. The fund’s revenues are derived from equalization payments paid by EmblemHealth for years in which GHI’s premiums are lower than HIP’s. The fund also receives direct contributions from the city negotiated in labor agreements and earns interest on reserves. Because of this dedicated funding stream, by 2016 the fund had a balance of $1.8 billion. The decisions on how to utilize these hundreds of millions of dollars are made jointly by the city as represented by the Office of Labor Relations, and organized labor as represented by the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC). Over the decades the Stabilization Fund has been increasingly used to fund supplementary health benefits and per member contributions to union welfare funds, which can be used at the unions’ discretion. Because of increasing withdrawals from the fund, and a decline in the primary revenue stream as GHI’s premiums exceeded those of HIP beginning in 2019, a structural deficit has emerged in recent years, as the fund’s annual obligations far exceed its revenues. The fund’s balance was $1.4 billion at the close of fiscal year 2020. One year later the balance stood at just over $1.0 billion. Over the past three years, the Stabilization Fund’s annual revenues averaged $161.4 million while expenses averaged $429.9 million. IBO estimates that at the current draw- down rate, even if annual expenses remain constant, the Stabilization Fund will be depleted in three to four years. The MLC and the city plan to utilize the savings from the transfer of the retiree health plan to Medicare Advantage Plus to provide the Stabilization Fund with an alternate revenue source. This new revenue source defers any need to deal with the fundamental issue facing the Stabilization Fund—the cost of annual obligations being financed with an unreliable stream of income. The agreement to move to Medicare Advantage continues the use of the Stabilization Fund as an off-budget transfer of city dollars to a special-purpose fund that has little or no budgetary oversight. With the loss of the money from the fund, NYC had to find a way to replenish that fund. Thus, NYC MAP Plus was created. MAP is a Part C, which is paid for by the federal government, so the cost of health insurance is being shifted away from NYC and onto the federal government. You can view testimony from the IBO at: https://ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/medicare-advantage-testimony-october-2021.pdf orDownload Here:

Yes. The deductions for your Medicare premium will continue to be deducted from your Social Security check or, if you are not on Social Security yet, continue to be billed to you as they are now. You will only lose the reimbursement if you purchase a plan outside of the plans offered through the city.

It is our understanding that there are no penalties or exclusions for pre-existing conditions or additional premiums beyond the regular premium to switch back. Despite what you may have seen or heard the Medicare regulations advertised, are applicable to individual policies, not group sponsored plans).

For almost all retirees, your drug coverage stays as it is. If you get your drug coverage through your union or are reimbursed, either partially or fully, for the drug plan it will continue as is. If you currently have the Senior Care drug rider, the premium decreases from $150/month/person to $125/month/person beginning in 2022. Whether you decide to go into the MAP or stay with Traditional Medicare with Senior Care, the drug plan will either stay with you or move automatically with you to the MAP. The only time there is a change in drug coverage is if you currently have an individual Part D plan (not one from your spouse's employer). In that case, if you enroll in the MAP, you will lose that individual drug plan. You must take the optional prescription rider or go back to your union sponsored Part D coverage if you had left it for an individual policy.

No There is no additional premium for your dependent to stay in GHI CBP.

We have been told by the Alliance to simply use their website to check if your providers will accept the MAP plan. Do not accept that just because your provider is on this list, that they will accept the plan. Contact your provider or their billing office and confirm with them that they will be participating in the plan before you make any decision. Be sure to ask about the plan by its name The NYC Medicare Advantage Plus Plan or ask if they participate in Blue Medicare Plans. You can explain to them that it is a new plan formed by an Alliance between Empire and Emblem and supply them with the 833-325-1190 number if they wish to contact the Alliance for more information

This group is the only entity that is fighting for the rights of all 250,000 retired City employees. Many of the unions are only engaged in trying to sell this new Medicare Advantage Plan to their retirees. We need your help in spreading the word to all retirees you know or may run across. Register on this website http://www.nycretirees.org and join the Organization’s Facebook page (NYC organization of Public Service Retirees for Benefit Preservation). Just as importantly, contribute to the legal fund. We are waging this fight strictly with the funds we raise from retirees and, although the March 3, 2022 decision was in our favor, the City has already filed an appeal. Without your contributions, we cannot fight. If we cannot fight, we cannot continue to win. Instructions for options to contribute are on the Join Us page of this website.

The Municipal Labor Committee (composed of leaders of all municipal workers unions) voted on March 9 to approve the City’s tentative agreement with Aetna for a Medicare Advantage PPO plan for NYC Medicare eligible retirees and their Medicare-eligible dependents. The City currently intends to move forward to approve the contract and has called for it to take effect on September 1, 2023. GHI Senior Care, along with all other City plans (except HIP/VIP**) would disappear. This new plan would replace your current traditional Medicare Part B and (supplemental/Medigap) coverage. i. **HIP/VIP is only available in the 5 boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties

Original Medicare is administered directly by the US government. A Medicare Advantage Plan is offered by a private insurance company (in this case, Aetna) that is responsible for approving and paying for your care. The government pays the insurance company who then pays your medical provider for providing services. (just google “Medicare part C”)

The City hopes to save money by paying Aetna less money to cover its retirees than it costs to cover them through Original Medicare plus the current supplemental coverage provided by GHI Senior Care.

a. Aetna may limit the providers to a smaller number of physicians and hospitals that are “in-network” and therefore compelled to accept reimbursement at the rate provided by insurer. Your existing providers may or may not be part of Aetna’s network. To complicate the picture further, some providers—despite not being ‘in-network’— may be willing to accept Aetna’s reimbursement as payment in full for your care but may require you to first pay out of pocket and await reimbursement. The only way to know for sure if your doctors and hospitals are in the Aetna network (or will accept Aetna’s reimbursement) is to ask them. (be sure to use the full name of the new Aetna plan- City of N.Y. Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO/ESA) b. Aetna may require prior authorization for certain diagnostic, medication and other treatment procedures, something that is almost never required in traditional Medicare. They may also require prior authorization to obtain care from an out-of-network provider.

Your only option would be to enroll in HIP-VIP, a Medicare Advantage HMO administered by Emblem (only available in NYC, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties) or Waive city-funded coverage and pay the full cost of premiums for your Medicare insurance plus any supplemental insurance you might choose to purchase (medigap policy). You would not be eligible for reimbursements for Medicare Part B premiums or IRMAA expenses (the extra premium amount that high earners are billed by Medicare). In some cases, you might also lose related benefits provided directly by your union. (each union is different-so you must check with your union welfare fund to determine if Drug, dentistry, vision etc. benefits and/or reimbursements can be retained)

You may have received notification saying you must make this decision by June 30. However, we urge you to sit tight and await further developments before taking this step since the proposed plan may be delayed or revised before it is scheduled to go into effect.

City of N.Y. Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO.

Our organization—along with a number of city unions and retiree groups—are opposing the change and advocating for retirees to maintain their current coverage through original Medicare and city-funded supplemental insurance. We are mobilizing both city retirees and active workers to advocate for maintaining the benefits to which they are entitled and are in the process of preparing legal actions to support this outcome. Please watch nycretirees.org for updates and consider supporting us by calling, writing letters and with a donation (see nycretirees.org/donate-subscribe for instructions on how to do this)

If you move to the Aetna plan your Non-Medicare dependents will be placed in the GHI/CBP plan. If you waive city coverage they you waive it for them also.

https://www.aetnamedicare.com/cony/en/index.html and health-retiree-responsibilities (nyc.gov)