NY Daily News: NYC’s largest municipal union urges workers to confront Council members who oppose Medicare Advantage push

New York City’s largest municipal union is text-blasting its members urging them to bombard Council members with critical phone calls if they support a bill that would guarantee traditional Medicare coverage for retired municipal employees, the Daily News has learned.

The text action from DC37 is part of the politically influential union’s support for an effort by Mayor Adams’ administration to make a cost-cutting, privatized Medicare Advantage plan the only health insurance option available for the city’s 250,000 municipal retirees.

The texts, copies of which were obtained by The News, take aim at Intro 1099, a bill penned by Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron that would require the city to offer its retired workers a premium-free traditional Medicare plan. Most of the city’s retirees currently benefit from such a Medicare structure, consisting of the universal federal program and a city-subsidized Medigap supplement.

Supporters of Barron’s bill argue it would protect traditional Medicare coverage at a time when it’s under threat by the Adams administration’s Advantage push — but the DC37 texts say the legislation could put active union workers’ health insurance at risk.

Full Story: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-dc37-workers-call-nyc-council-members-with-calls-medicare-advantage-20230822-f2qaoqzx7remjdwmjkj777q4me-story.html