City retirees hold last-ditch protest of Medicare plan

Mar 31, 2023

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By Madina Touré

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Municipal workers and retirees rally against the city’s Medicare Advantage plan.

Municipal workers and retirees rally against the city’s Medicare Advantage plan. | Madina Toure

Municipal workers and retirees rallied outside City Hall Park Friday to protest a controversial $200 million contract the Adams administration inked with insurance giant Aetna.

“Now Mayor Adams tells us that this new plan will be as good or better than what we have now,” said Gloria Brandman, a member of the Cross-Union Organizing Committee. “Mayor Adams tells us this. However, Mayor Adams, we are not fools. How can a better plan that costs less money give us more? That doesn’t sound possible.”

Adams and Labor Relations Commissioner Renee Campion announced the official signing of the contract, which will cover about 250,000 municipal retirees and their dependents with a Medicare Advantage plan.

The five-plus year contract will go into effect Sept. 1. Retirees who are currently enrolled in the city’s Senior Care plan will automatically be transferred to the Medicare Advantage plan.

Retirees have been urging the Adams administration to select “Option C,” a provision that would have allowed them to remain on traditional Medicare plan at no additional cost.

When asked if the city is considering “Option C,” a City Hall spokesperson said no.

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From the Capitol

BAIL REFORMS: Opponents of Gov. Kathy Hochul's key proposal to amend the state's bail laws continued to protest its inclusion in the final budget as negotiations dragged on in part due to the conflict.

The Legal Aid Society released a statement Friday urging lawmakers to reject Hochul's proposal, which would eliminate the "least restrictive" standard judges use to set bail.

"The Legislature must outright reject Governor Hochul's eleventh hour hijacking of the budget process to ram through cruel and nonsensical changes to New York's successful bail reform law simply for her own cynical political gain," a Legal Aid spokesperson said in the statement.

According to Hochul, the changes she proposed are the opposite of nonsensical.

“I'm working hard to have policies that make sense, that give clarity to judges so there is no inconsistency, so we deal with the serious offenses and this is what New Yorkers want us to do,” said Hochul during an interview on New York Public Radio on Thursday. — Eleonora Francica

FROM CITY HALL

Mayor Eric Adams delivers remarks at the opening celebration for the New York University (NYU) Langone Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Multispecialty Care Center

Mayor Eric Adams delivers remarks at the opening celebration for the New York University (NYU) Langone Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Multispecialty Care Center | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Mayor Eric Adams cut the ribbon on a new state-of-the-art care center in Brooklyn Friday. The five-story facility, part of New York University Langone Health, will incorporate an array of services including an emergency room and a cancer center. “People thought that we were not going to bring back the quality care and services here to this community,” he said, “but it’s been proven wrong.” — Zachary Schermele

On the beats

TRUMP INDICTMENT: Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, railed against recent efforts by House Republicans to force Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to give them information about his criminal case against Donald Trump. Speaking outside a ribbon-cutting event in Brooklyn Friday, Goldman told POLITICO the GOP committee chairmen are “abusing the power and the official authority of Congress to act as Donald Trump’s defense attorney.”

“They are putting one man above the rule of law, and it is entirely inappropriate and outside the bounds of their jurisdiction to do so. They need to let this process play out in a court of law, pursuant to the rule of law,” he said. — Zachary Schermele

A message from Equinor:

EDUCATION: The application portal for Summer Rising, the city’s learning and enrichment program for elementary and middle school students, will open April 17, city officials announced Friday. It will close May 1. DYCD officials recently announced changes to this year’s enrollment process. The changes include allowing families to apply any time during the enrollment period and rank preferences for multiple locations — a shift away from the previous first-come, first-served approach. “This year’s Summer Rising program will build off of last year’s very successful program, starting with changes to the application process based on feedback from families and providers,” Adams said in a statement. “Up to 110,000 students from kindergarten through eighth grade will have the chance to grow, learn, and explore their talents and imagination.” — Madina Touré

Around New York

— Scholars are blasting Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway for calling a looming faculty union strike “unlawful.” (WNYC)

— Friday morning marked the first legal marijuana sale in the Capital Region. (Times Union)

— New York establishes security measures following Trump’s indictment. (NBC New York)

— An NYC patient allegedly stole the ambulance that rescued him and drove it for 25 miles. (FOX News)

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