The United Federation of Teachers' Delegate Assembly, the union's highest decision-making body, on Monday evening overwhelmingly endorsed a proposed health care plan for 750,000 city employees, in-service, pre-Medicare retirees, and their families.

The health plan—called the New York City Employees PPO Plan (NYCE PPO)—was endorsed with 78 percent of the 2,352 votes cast.

The endorsement means the UFT will vote in favor of the NYCE PPO on Tuesday, Sept. 30, when the health care plan is put to a vote by the Municipal Labor Committee, which negotiates health care benefits for city employees.

"The NYCE PPO preserves high-quality, premium-free health care for city workers, maintains and expands current benefits, retains current doctors, expands the overall number of medical providers in the network, and reduces the number of medical services that require prior authorization," said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers. "We will be proud to cast the UFT's support for this plan at the vote by the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC)."

The tentative agreement would be a new health care plan offered jointly by EmblemHealth and UnitedHealthcare to current city workers, pre-Medicare retired city workers, and their families.

EmblemHealth would provide coverage for doctors and hospitals in New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley (Duchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester counties), adding 14,000 additional providers to the network.

UnitedHealthcare would provide national coverage for doctors and hospitals outside EmblemHealth’s covered area through its national network of 1.6 million in-network providers.

On top of that, across New York State, the new plan would add 27,000 additional mental health providers to the network, for a total of 418,000 mental health providers nationally.

To ensure members have access to the care they need, a review board that includes representatives from the MLC would monitor implementation of the plan, including prior authorizations, every month, a level of consumer oversight unheard of in health care plans.

If approved by the MLC on Tuesday, the new contract would have a term of five years, locking in premium-free coverage and providing more stability in care and cost.