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Health Benefits

There are two parts to UFT members’ health coverage. As an employee with a regular assignment in the Department of Education, you are entitled to a choice of several health plans offered by the City of New York. Your choice will provide you and your dependents with both medical and hospital care. Eligible dependents include: legally married spouse, domestic partner and dependent children up to age 29. Details of the health plans are published in the New York Teacher each fall during the transfer period (when you can change your insurance provider) and are available at the UFT's Welfare Fund website. To supplement the health plan, our UFT Welfare Fund provides coverage to eligible members and their dependents for prescription drugs, dental, optical, hearing aid, disability (including maternity) and other supplementary benefits.

There are no waiting periods for eligible UFT members for both the city and the Welfare Fund coverage. Coverage begins with your initial day of employment; therefore, it is important to enroll in both. You can contact your school's payroll secretary to learn how best for you to enroll in your City health plan. Enrolling in the UFT Welfare Fund is simple: either use our online enrollment process or see your chapter leader, who has hard copies of the forms. Until you receive your UFT Welfare Fund prescription drug card, you should purchase the prescription drugs you and your dependents may need, and once the card arrives, submit the original receipts to the Welfare Fund for reimbursement.

Members should remember to register online with the UFT Welfare Fund. This will provide you easy access to benefit information and you can enroll, update your personal information, order forms and find links to other health benefit- related sites.

Visit the UFT Welfare Fund »

Read Contract Article 3G »