The insurance company Aetna, which was selected to handle a healthcare transfer for 250,000 municipal retirees, now requests the opportunity to defend the strategy in court.
Tuesday, the business filed a petition to join a case brought by retired New Yorkers against the city and Mayor Eric Adams in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Aetna Benefits And Efforts In Response To Retirees’ Action
The action is the city government retirees’ second attempt to thwart the Adams administration’s proposal to transition them from standard Medicare to Medicare Advantage, a privatized variant of the healthcare program.
Aetna describes the benefits of the new health plan and its initiatives to inform retirees about the changes being made in documentation presented to the court.
According to documents provided to Gothamist, as of June 6 only 979 city retirees and dependents had chosen to not participate in the new Medicare Advantage plan.
Members who choose to do so can sign up for HIP VIP, an alternate city plan, or forgo municipal coverage entirely and sign up for standard Medicare on their own.
However, they will no longer receive city-funded benefits and will be responsible for covering any additional costs.
Despite the controversy surrounding Medicare Advantage programs, the low number of opt-outs shows that retirees largely approve of our plan.
Read more: Medigap To Medicare Advantage: Making An Informed Decision About Coverage Switch
Aetna’s Medicare Advantage Expected 250,000 Retirees
Adams has previously fought to keep retirees’ choice to continue on conventional Medicare with the Senior Care supplement for a 191 dollars monthly cost.
However, because it would be against the administrative code of the city, that action was stopped in court. Adams therefore ruled out that choice entirely.
If the transition goes through, on September 1st, about 250,000 municipal retirees and their dependents will be switched automatically to Aetna’s Medicare Advantage plan.
The option for opting out closes on June 30 and won’t reopen until the registration period for the following year.
Read more: Preparing For Medicare: Insights For Social Security Beneficiaries