The following email was sent to DOE-employed UFT members and pre-Medicare-eligible retirees on Sept. 30, 2025 from Geof Sorkin, Executive Director of the UFT Welfare Fund:

This Monday, Sept. 29, the UFT Delegate Assembly overwhelmingly voted to support the city’s proposed health care plan, the New York City Employees PPO (NYCE PPO). This morning, the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), the umbrella group of city municipal unions, met and voted to approve the plan, with the UFT casting its vote in accordance with the Delegate Assembly’s vote. 

This means that on Jan.1, 2026, the NYC Employees PPO plan will replace the GHI CBP plan for in-service city workers and pre-Medicare retirees. 

This plan, provided by EmblemHealth and UnitedHealthcare, will lock in premium-free benefits for the next five years and provide members access to the following expanded benefits:

• Thousands of additional providers in the NYC area, while keeping current providers
• 1.6 million providers nationwide
• Access to all major hospital networks in the city and nationwide
• Fewer procedures requiring prior authorization
• More in-network mental health services

You will soon receive detailed information about the new plan directly from NYCE PPO, but here is some basic enrollment information to help you get started.

If you are currently enrolled in the GHI CBP plan: 

• You and your dependents will be automatically enrolled in the NYCE PPO starting on Jan. 1, 2026. You will not need to do anything. Your new ID card and welcome packet will be sent to you in the mail.
• If you do not wish to be in the NYCE PPO, you can switch to another city health plan during the annual open enrollment period for health care in November. That change will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. 

If you are currently enrolled in HIP HMO or any other city health care plan: 

• Your health care is not changing. If you like your current plan, you do not have to do anything. You will stay in that plan, and nothing will change.
• If you would like to switch to the NYCE PPO or another city health plan, you may do so during the annual open enrollment period for health care in November. That change will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. 

If you are in GHI/Anthem Senior Care and have pre-Medicare dependents who are currently enrolled in the GHI CBP plan: 

• Your dependents will be automatically enrolled in the NYCE PPO on Jan. 1, 2026. They will not need to do anything. Their new ID card and welcome packet will be sent to them in the mail.
• If they do not wish to be in the NYCE PPO, you must switch out of GHI/Anthem Senior Care to another city health plan for retirees during the annual open enrollment period for health care in November. That change will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Learning more about the new plan

Here’s where to go to find out more about NYCE PPO: 

• Visit the health care section of the UFT website
• Starting on Oct. 1, visit the new plan website at nyceppo.com or call NYCE PPO at 212-501-4444

The NYCE PPO plan is a big step forward in our fight to preserve and protect our premium-free health care at a time when national health care costs continue to increase. This new plan shows the power of what unions can accomplish and will help provide us and our families with the health care we deserve for years to come. We will keep you updated as we move forward.