Tens of thousands of retired New York City workers and their dependents have until Monday to decide whether to opt out of a new privatized Medicare plan that’s slated to replace their existing coverage in the fall, after the deadline was extended last month.
Otherwise, they will be enrolled in the new Aetna-run health plan automatically — a fate that some retirees are dreading despite reassurances about the quality of the plan from the insurance provider and city officials.
New York City seniors are grappling with this potential shift in their health coverage – which has been delayed for years amid protests and lawsuits – at a time when these private Medicare Advantage plans are exploding in popularity nationwide. Until now, most municipal retirees have been covered by traditional Medicare with a supplemental plan called SeniorCare paid for by the city. The only way for retirees to stay on traditional Medicare would be to forgo city health benefits entirely and pay for any supplemental coverage themselves.
Gothamist spoke with New York City doctors, as well as seniors and their family members, about how their own experiences with Medicare Advantage plans stack up to the hype – and the critiques.
What doctors have to say
There’s now a wide variety of Medicare Advantage plans on the market. They frequently offer a broader array of benefits than traditional Medicare, but some also have narrower networks of health care providers and have a reputation for making people jump through hoops to get the medical care their doctors recommend, said Tricia Neuman, executive director of the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF, a health care research nonprofit. Aetna has stated its plan for NYC municipal retirees is designed to minimize those issues.
But three New York City doctors who spoke to Gothamist said, given their experiences with other Medicare Advantage plans, they understand why people are concerned.
Dr. Thomas Sterry, a plastic surgeon affiliated with Mount…
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