The Professional Staff Congress is the union for CUNY professors and others including me at my current job. This resolution that passed unanimously at the PSC Delegate Assembly opposing privatizing Medicare needs to be endorsed by the rank and file of every city union.
17 comments:
Mulgrew and the UFT has instigated the Medicare Advantage scam.
If United For Change had won the election, then there would be
a possible opposition to the Medicare Advantage scam. Mulgrew will find another way to wreck your post-retirement Medical plans. He is a stooge for his democrat political bosses and Mulgrew is going to take away your benefits to help save money for NY city. You voted for him or you chose not to vote. NY's dumbest are whining away on this blog with their pathetic, unprofessional rants.
Medicare Advantage is equivalent to an annual $2300 reduction in your post-retirement medical insurance coverage.
Why don't you UFT members choose to work as non-paid volunteers? You all love your jobs as day care center workers, don't you?
But nobody really made the case against Medicare Advantage. Just pre approval which we already have with ghi/empire. Meanwhile saving the city billions is a dirty phrase. Never mind the budget is a zero sum game.
Here’s my case against MA. Every single person I know who has it, hates it. Constantly denied. Constantly appealing. Constantly forgoing treatment because not approved by MA. They don’t switch because they can’t afford to pay more. All told me how lucky I was to have my current plan. Fuck you, Unity. Don’t try to tell me THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT. I don’t fucking believe you. Medicare Advantage sucks and your gaslighting and bullshit won’t change that fucking fact. Do you get it now? One more time…. We don’t want your fucking Medicare Advantage plan. We want what we currently have.
@11:16 am
Nobody made the case against Medicare Advantage?
Are you out of your fucking ignorant mind?
Read the newspapers. Ignoramus , Get informed. Stop gaslighting and lying.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/health/medicare-advantage-plans-report.html
11:16–You don’t know what you are talking about.
Mulgrew was a major player as part of the MLC when bargaining with the city over retiree healthcare cost savings back in 2018. He consistently promoted and supported this new Med Advantage Plus saying it was the best healthcare on the planet—and better perks than traditional Medicare and cheaper—during countless RTC meetings since the spring of 2021. As of last summer, other smaller unions protested and brought lawsuits—as they smelled a rat—and the changeover was delayed by a judge on Jan.1 and again on March 31. Over 25% of all city retirees had opted out by January and that number was growing -as they were willing to spend $191 more a month to keep what their current plan. And of course Mulgrew withdrew his support for Medicare Advantage Plus temporarily—after giving his full support for so many months. He has claimed innocence and simply blamed the city lawyers for problems with the rollout of Medicare Advantage. Just talks out of both sides of his mouth.
PS: The pandemic delayed the implementation of this Medicare Advantage Plan from Jan.1, 2021 to Jan. 2022. The city has appealed and if the judge rules for the city—expect Mulgrew to say—“I did all I could, but we have to go by the judge’s decision.
@1:21 pm
I wish we had just 10 teachers like you.
The problem is we have 60,000. And none of them bothered to vote in the UFT elections.
None of them have any knowledge of the corruption and incompetence of the UFT under Mulgrew.
I wish we had just 10 teachers like you.
All the dopes that did not vote are the reason we are in this mess. You can not blame Mulgrew for doing all the bullshit he does. He won the election because of ass holes who went dormant and did not vote.
There will be no happy ending with idiots that don’t vote and a shit stain as Uft President.
Once the UFT retirees who didn’t bother to vote get med adv they will see first hand how screwed they got. That will get them to start paying attention and that’s when they’ll start voting. Seniors don’t like their health care messed with. It’s all they talk about in my family. The cost of healthcare, the cost of prescriptions, what’s covered. Health coverage is a major priority for the 65+ crowd.
Medicare is a great program but when I started part d, my prescription costs skyrocketed. My diabetes medication went from $37 for a 3 month supply to $335. The UFT should negotiate a part d drug cap.
Medicare does not have pre-approval. Medicare advantage has pre approval. Retirees under age 65 has pre approval with ghi/empire. Get your facts correct as this is not rocket science. To claim that nobody has made the case against medicare advantage shows that there are many uneducated misinformed people who believe the BS from our union.
@7:44 You are quite right about the horrible UFT sponsored Medicare advantage plan.
You are also correct that most UFT members are uneducated and misinformed about their benefits and about how the UFT has hurt them financially.
If they were informed they would become enlightened and opt out on June 1st.
JoanneP
First off I am UFT and I voted against Mulgrew. Mulgrew and the MLC pulled the rug from underneath us. The new Medical Advantage Plan sucks in plain English. Most Doctors and Hospitals will not accept it and these health providers are in New York State. If you are a retiree outside of New York God help you they will not accept it either. Retirees will be out of more out of pocket expenses with the new plan. Traditional Medicare has no referrals for test and procedures and is accepted in ALL 50 states. So do retirees want medical insurance that is accepted everywhere or in just a few places. Do not believe the unions or city saying the doctors and health facilities have to accept the new plan NO they do not, each plan is its own contract.
The city and unions have also failed to tell the public why we are in this situation they bankrupted the stabilization fund to pay active members pay raises. This fund was for health care only nothing else. The unions chose the go for the retirees because we were easy pickings. Most unions in NYC their retirees cannot vote in the union elections. The UFT retirees votes are not even full votes. I will fight this till end. I want my traditional Medicare and the supplemental insurance plan the city promised us.
Caprice240k
POSTED BY JAMES COLLINS FORMER CHAIR NGO COMMITTEE ON AGING AT THE UN)
INITIAL VERSION OF COMMENT PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY NEWS JANUARY 3, 2022
BE SURE TO READ THE LAST PARAGRAPH
This Medicare Part D information was just posted on the Medicare Rights Center’s website (along with Part A and Part B info):
Part D (Prescription drug coverage)
• National average Part D premium: $33.37 per month
• Part D maximum deductible: $480 per year
• Coverage gap beings: $4,430
• Catastrophic coverage begins: $7,050
The Emblem Health Part D pharmacy plan provides actuarially exactly the same coverage as all other Part D plans- plans vary only in how plan members reach the $7050 “true out-of-pocket” drug purchases before catastrophic coverage begins. See page 30 of the Enrollment Guide.
But note that Emblem also collects a $125 monthly premium ($1500/year) while the average plan collects only $33.37/month, a little over $400/year.
Why do the City and the Unions allow Emblem to enjoy this excess profiteering of at least $100 million/year? Why does the City subsidize this outrageous monthly premium through payments to union benefit funds that reimburse retirees for a portion of that excessive premium? Funds that otherwise could be providing members other benefits?
If the Mayor won't, perhaps the City Council should investigate this sweetheart deal.
The NYC Medicare Advantage Plan features 87, yes, 87 prior authorizations, causing delays and ultimately denials. Traditional Medicare does not have prior authorizations. If the participant goes above $75,000 expense in one year, they are assigned a case manager. Hmmm, is that like the care coordinator the NYHA provision speaks to? And, get this, to keep the unions getting their cut, they can operate as the care coordinator. Imagine the UFT being in charge of your specific needs with providers. France requires every participant to have a family doctor, NYS wants the union to be our care coordinator. Wow, what Mulgrew could do with that!
Thanks for posting the PSC resolution, James.
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