The following email was sent to members of the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter from UFT President Michael Mulgrew and RTC Chapter Leader Tom Murphy on Dec. 14, 2021:

The UFT is pleased that the judge has made a ruling that the effective date of the NYC Medicare Advantage Plus Plan will be April 1, 2022. This later start date will ensure that UFT members and health care providers have enough time to be made aware of the plan, how it works and all it has to offer.

Key takeaways from the ruling:

• Start date of new plan adjusted: The new plan’s start date will be April 1, 2022, assuming that all benchmarks laid out in the ruling are met and provided that certain continued outreach is made to doctors and retirees.
• No multiple deductibles: The court also agreed with us and ordered that retirees should be held harmless regarding deductibles. Any payment toward deductibles that city retirees make before the new plan takes place will count towards the annual deductible in the new NYC Medicare Advantage Plus Plan once it takes effect.
• Retirees will have flexibility in trying out the new plan: The UFT has pressed for and obtained flexibility in retirees’ decision-making during this shift. While the opt-out period for the April 1 start date will end on March 31, 2022, there will be a continuing opt-out and opt-in period until June 30, 2022. No one will be locked into a choice, one way or the other, for a full year.

Read the full decision »

The judge listened to the UFT in making this ruling and made decisions that make sense for UFT retirees. We will keep retirees posted with any further updates.