Judge ‘permanently’ blocks Medicare Advantage switch for 250K NYC retirees, city to appeal

A New York state Supreme Court judge “permanently” blocked Mayor Eric Adams' administration on Friday from shifting hundreds of thousands of municipal retirees off their Medicare insurance onto a privatized version of the plan, but the city immediately vowed to appeal the ruling.

Judge Lyle Frank wrote in a decision and order dated Friday that the city is “permanently enjoined from requiring any city retirees, and their dependents from being removed from their current health insurance plan(s).”

The city is also barred from forcing retirees or their dependents to enroll in an Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan — the proposed cost-cutting replacement — or requiring those parties to find their own health plan, per the ruling. The proposal, which originated during the de Blasio administration and has the support of municipal labor unions, could save the city $600 million a year.

Retirees had protested the planned transition as a potential obstacle to accessing certain medical providers and treatments that left the door open for increased out-of-pocket costs. Jake Gardener, who represented plaintiffs in the case, praised the outcome in a statement on Friday.

“Because of Justice Frank’s well-reasoned decision, hundreds of thousands of senior citizens and disabled first responders will be able to continue receiving the medical care they desperately need and to which they are entitled,” Gardener said.

The decision follows a preliminary injunction blocking the transition earlier this summer just days before it forcibly took effect, after retirees sued over the plan in late May. At the time, Aetna stated that only 1,667 of the 250,000 or so seniors affected had made the decision to voluntarily opt out of the Medicare Advantage plan.

Jonah Allon, a spokesperson for Adams, said the mayor’s office was “extremely disappointed” in the ruling and planned to appeal.

“This Medicare Advantage plan, which was negotiated closely with and supported by the Municipal Labor Committee, would improve upon retirees’ current plans, including offering a lower deductible, a cap on out-of-pocket expenses, and new benefits, like transportation, fitness programs and wellness incentives,” Allon said in a statement on Friday.

But Marianne Pizzitola, president of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, one of the lead plaintiffs in the case, said courts have had to repeatedly step in and “stop the city from violating retirees’ health care rights.”

“NYC Retirees earned their right to federal Medicare, and we relied on the promise we would have this benefit through our lifetime,” Pizzitola said in a statement. “We hope this decision will help retirees nationwide stop their former unions and employer from privatizing the Federal Public Health Benefit of Medicare so we can live the rest of our lives in peace.”