Our goals

When we started the negotiated acquisition process, the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) asked for a new health care plan to include specific improvements. The UFT was clear that we would not agree to any plan unless it achieved each of the following goals:

1. Kept our current network of doctors and added more
2. Maintained and expanded our benefits
3. Expanded access to mental health care
4. Protected us from rising copays
5. Locked in premium-free coverage for five years

The NYC Employees PPO Plan not only meets all of these goals but exceeds them.

Below are the specific improvements we will see: 

Keeping our current network of doctors and adding more

For New York City and the other eight downstate New York counties, EmblemHealth will provide both doctor and hospital coverage, allowing for continued, uninterrupted care from the doctors we already see within the EmblemHealth network.

The NYCE PPO plan's network in this area will also expand to include an additional 14,000 providers. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) are included in the new plan, and the UFT Welfare Fund concierge services for these programs will remain in place.

UnitedHealthcare will provide national coverage for all doctors and hospitals outside EmblemHealth's covered area through its national network, which has 1.6 million providers. This expanded access is especially beneficial for our pre-Medicare retirees living in other states and traveling in-service members.

More than 200,000 city workers who currently see out-of-network doctors will now have these providers covered as in-network.

Expanded mental health access

The number of behavioral/mental health providers available is vastly increasing under the NYCE PPO. The new plan includes:

• 39,000 behavioral/mental health providers in New York state, up from 12,000 providers in the GHI CBP plan (a 325% increase)
• 418,000 behavioral/mental health providers nationwide, up from 61,000 providers in the GHI CBP plan (a 685% increase)
• In-person and virtual access to a nationwide network of quality behavioral health partners offering evidence-based treatment options. These options include:
  • Access to treatment and support for children, teens and adults
  • A full range of services including psychiatric care and treatment for eating disorders, substance abuse and addiction

Maintaining and expanding our benefits

All the benefits and services that we have in the GHI CBP plan is offered in theNYC Employees PPO Plan, plus more features and enhancements, including:

• A suite of programs including wellness, behavioral health, disease management, convenient virtual care and more
• A single member portal so all our major medical health care information and documents will be in one place
• A single ID card
• An easy-to-use mobile app

Protecting us from rising copays

Under the NYCE PPO plan, our copays remain the same as they are now, and more services will have zero copays. NYC Health + Hospitals will join ACPNY as an in-network preferred provider which expands the options across the city for medical services with zero copays.

Locking in premium-free health care coverage

The NYCE PPO plan secures premium-free health care for the next five years, a notable improvement over the current system, which requires annual renewal of our health care contract.