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Timeline

Mid-2022

The Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), the umbrella coalition of 100-plus municipal unions that negotiates health benefits for all city workers, engaged in a negotiated acquisition — a formal process that is used to select a vendor or contractor and tailor the contract to meet specific needs.

The goal was to find the best insurance company that would enable us to lock in our premium-free health care with no diminishment of benefits.

The negotiated acquisition process enabled us to repeatedly go back to the insurance companies vying for our business and tell them to do better. This, combined with the fact that the MLC represents 1.2 million people, gave us immense buying power and created a huge incentive for health insurance companies to work with us.

Since insurance companies were eager to win our business, we had the leverage to help us accomplish our goals.

January 2023

The time for insurance companies to respond to the negotiated acquisition and submit proposals closed. The MLC then identified several qualified applicants and interviewed each to determine the semifinalists.

The negotiated acquisition process allowed for lots of back-and-forth among the insurance providers, the city and the unions, ensuring that the plan for in-service and pre-Medicare-eligible retirees preserved the same high standard of health care.

October 2023

Two semifinalists were chosen: Emblem Health/UnitedHealthcare and Aetna. These two companies continued to be part of the negotiated acquisition process as the unions in the MLC reviewed and evaluated their proposals to determine which company would be the finalist and have the chance to begin fully negotiating a new plan.

June 2025

The MLC and the city selected EmblemHealth/UnitedHealthcare to enter negotiations with.

The scoring on the final bids showed that EmblemHealth/UnitedHealthcare could provide better benefits in several key areas, which helped put it ahead of the other finalist, Aetna.

These areas included:

  • Keeping our current doctors: There would be less disruption in care as our members would be able to keep the same network of doctors.
  • Expanded network/greater access: EmblemHealth/UnitedHealthcare could significantly expand our network of doctors, hospitals and other services, which is especially beneficial for pre-Medicare retirees outside the tri-state area.
  • Premium-free health care for five years: There was a clear road map that enabled us to keep our premium-free health care.
  • Improved access to behavioral/mental health providers.
  • Willingness to negotiate and reduce the number of prior authorizations.
  • Commitment to maintaining copay-free care for most services at AdvantageCare Physicians, MSK and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).

Summer 2025

Negotiations continued throughout the summer.

The MLC and the city engaged in negotiations with Emblem/UnitedHealthcare to design a new plan: the NYC Employees PPO Plan. After months of negotiations, a tentative agreement was reached.

August 2025

The NYCE PPO plan was announced to members.

Before the agreement was finalized, it went through several reviews and was approved by vote in the UFT Delegate Assembly and later in the MLC. 

  • Step One: The member-led UFT Health Care Committee reviewed the proposal and made a recommendation to the Delegate Assembly to support the NYCE PPO.
  • Step Two: The UFT Delegate Assembly reviewed the plan prior to voting on it on Sept. 29.
  • Step Three: The MLC voted on the proposed plan, with UFT casting its vote in accordance with the Delegate Assembly’s decision.

If we did not go forth with the NYCE PPO health care plan, we could have lost this opportunity to expand our network of doctors and behavioral health providers and to keep copays low in the coming years. Most importantly, our premium-free health care would have been at risk. Due to rising health care costs, the city could have claimed they could not be able to continue to pay our premiums and shift this cost onto us (they have repeatedly made this threat over the years) – which we could not accept. This plan locks in premium-free health care for the next five years, providing UFT members and their families with security and stability.

September 2025

  • On 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).
  • On Sept. 30, 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.

November 2025

The month of November is the city's annual open enrollment period for health care plans. If you would like to switch to the NYCE PPO or another city health plan, or if you are currently enrolled in the GHI CBP plan and you do not wish to be in the NYCE PPO, you may switch health plans during this month. See more about NYCE PPO enrollment »

January 2026

On Jan.1, 2026, the NYC Employees PPO plan will replace the GHI CBP plan for in-service city workers and pre-Medicare retirees. The GHI CBP plan will cease to exist.