City to pay Medicare B refunds

Starting the third week of August, the city will begin mailing the 2010 reimbursement Medicare Part B refunds to our members and their spouses or domestic partners. The refunds are for $96.40 per month or $1,156.80 if you paid for the entire year. For those who first became Medicare Part B eligible on or after January 1, 2010, the amount is $110.50 per month or $1,326 if you paid for the entire year.

If you do not receive your basic refund by Oct. 1, write to: City of New York, Office of Labor Relations Health Benefits Program, 40 Rector St., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10006, Attn: Medicare Reimbursement Unit.

Please note: The UFT and the Municipal Labor Committee lobbied the City Council some years back to override a mayoral veto thereby granting city retirees full reimbursement, a benefit that many retirees in other localities still do not have. The city unsuccessfully tried to rescind that full reimbursement in this year's budget negotiations. The unions and City Council prevailed.

In 2007, the Bush administration began means testing (which is income-based) for Medicare part B beneficiaries. This required some of our members to pay a higher amount known as the IRMAA (Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount). This means testing will continue in 2011 and affects those members who paid more than the basic monthly Medicare Part B premium in 2010.

The city does not know who paid the IRMAA surcharges, as income information was provided by the IRS to Medicare. Therefore, a process was created last year for the city to reimburse those members who were affected by this payment. This year, the city will again include in the Medicare Part B refund check mailing instructions for members to file for the IRMAA refund.

Members should complete the notification to the city immediately. Due to the complex nature of these IRMAA refunds, it is a manual process and therefore it will take several months for these refund checks to be issued by the city. Members can expect the IRMAA refunds beginning March 2012.

Members who file for the IRMAA refund should send the information to the city via regular mail as certified mail may delay the process. As always, members are advised to keep copies of all information sent to the city regarding this refund.

If you have questions, you can contact the UFT at the Retiree Health number: 212-598-7726.