A Manhattan judge is pressing pause on a controversial plan to push New York City government retirees onto a new privatized version of Medicare this fall – a major victory for critics of the switch.
In a plan that city officials said would save some $600 million a year, municipal retirees were supposed to be moved from their existing coverage – a combination of traditional Medicare with supplemental coverage paid for by the city – onto a private Medicare Advantage plan run by Aetna this fall. City officials had scheduled the deadline to opt out for this coming Monday, but seniors who decided to stay on traditional Medicare would have had to waive their city benefits and pay for their health coverage themselves.
A group of retired city workers filed a lawsuit in late May arguing that the Adams administration would be diminishing care for retirees and violating city law by making them pivot onto the new Aetna-run plan.
On Friday, Judge Lyle Frank granted retirees’ petition to temporarily block the transition while the case is pending in court.
“As this matter deals with health decisions of an aging and a potentially vulnerable population, mostly on fixed incomes, any lapse in care for these people could lead to deleterious impacts,” Frank stated in his order.
City officials have argued that the new plan will not be inferior to retirees’ existing coverage, but retirees have expressed concerns that some doctors will not accept the new plan — and that patients will need prior approval from Aetna for more types of medical services.
The judge also rejected a request from Aetna to intervene in the lawsuit and defend its health plan.
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