Councilmember Christopher Marte and Lower East Side residents hold up a stack of letters addressed to supermarkets and grocery stores urging them to accept OTC cards.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Lower Manhattan City Council Member Christopher Marte (D) and Lower East Side residents mailed over 50 letters Tuesday to grocery stores, supermarkets, and delis across the neighborhood urging them to accept Over-the-Counter Cards (OTC) or United Healthcare UCards to help cut their food bill costs and buy healthier items.
OTC and UCards are similar to Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards and provide benefits for participants enrolled in certain Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) plans like United Healthcare and Dual Special Needs plans such as Aetna, Humana, WellCare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Some perks include coverage of medical costs, utility bills, over-the-counter medication, and gym memberships for eligible policyholders. The cards, which function like a prepaid debit card, can also be used to purchase healthy and fresh foods like vegetables, meats, fruits, grains, seafood, and dairy items.
Depending on the provider, OTC and UCards are replenished monthly or every three months; any unused funds do not roll over to the next month or quarter.
At a Jan. 23 press conference outside the Knickerbocker Post Office at 128 East Broadway, Marte explained that many stores on the Lower East Side don’t accept OTC or UCards. Residents who are struggling due to higher living costs are forced to travel to other parts of Manhattan or the outer boroughs to shop for fresh, affordable groceries at stores that accept the benefits.
“We have an opportunity through the OTC card, sometimes also called the UCard, that allows people with disabilities, our seniors, and low-income participants of insurance companies to have access to fresh foods,” Marte explained. “However, many people will have to go to other boroughs or commute an hour to make sure that they…
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