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Health care negotiations

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The Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) is currently in the process of negotiating with the city on an improved in-service and pre-Medicare retiree health care plan for all New York City public employees.

We want to use this process as an opportunity to address the growing frustrations we face with health care and create a better plan for us all. This process, called the negotiated acquisition process, uses the buying power of all MLC unions to ask for bids from insurance companies to find the best plan that will benefit members most.

In the past few years, with all the tumult in the health care industry, it has become harder to find primary care and behavioral health providers in the GHI-CBP plan. We know we would benefit from a larger provider network, including a larger out-of-state network of doctors. 

Having premium-free health care is of utmost importance to us, and we are committed to protecting it at all costs no matter what is happening nationwide. We are the UFT, and as one of the strongest unions in the country, we will never agree to any plan that is not an improvement on our current plan. 

Read our FAQ about current negotiations to protect our premium-free health care »

How the process works

Step 1: The MLC and the city ask for bids from insurance companies that are interested in competing to provide improved health benefits for all New York City public employees.

Step 2: After the companies submit their bids, the MLC and the city pick two finalists with the best offering.

Step 3: A finalist is chosen to proceed in the process and begins negotiating a plan with the city and the MLC. Using the bid as a base, the MLC pushes to ensure the proposed plan is as good as it can possibly be.

Step 4: Each union in the MLC has the chance to review the final proposed plan and to vote whether or not to support it. Our UFT health care committee will review the plan and make a recommendation to our Delegate Assembly, which will then vote. This vote will decide the UFT’s vote in the MLC.

Step 5: If the proposed plan passes an MLC vote, then city workers and health care providers are educated on the aspects of the plan and the timeline for the implementation. If the plan does not pass an MLC vote, then negotiations can begin again based on feedback from the unions.

Step 6: If the improved plan has been approved, implementation can begin. If the plan was not approved, the city and the MLC will negotiate until they have a new proposed plan and we go back to step 3.

Where we are now

We are at Step 3. Based on the scoring of the final bids from the two vendors, the city and the MLC are moving forward into negotiations with EmblemHealth/UnitedHealthcare (UHC). It’s a big step in our movement to improve in-service and pre-Medicare retiree health care while protecting our premium-free benefits in the coming years.

Why was EmblemHealth/UHC chosen for negotiations?

The scoring on the final bids shows that EmblemHealth/UHC can provide better policies on several key issues, which helped put it ahead of Aetna. These issues include:

  • Keeping current doctors: Less disruption by allowing our members to keep the doctors that they currently use.
  • Expanded network/greater access: A way to significantly expand our network of doctors, hospitals and other services.
  • Premium-free promise: A clear roadmap to allow us to keep our health care premium free.

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