RPEA in the New York Daily News

Visit the New York Daily News online to see RPEA’s letter to the editor, included in the paper’s “Readers Sound Off” section on Sunday, February 20, 2022: www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-letter-feb-20-20220220-juov5445hvgzph4qhddtwbd4sq-story.html 

Bait-and-switch, indeed

Troy, N.Y.: The decision by Mayor Adams to support moving all retirees and their beneficiaries out of traditional Medicare is a breach of contract with people who dedicated their lives to keeping our communities healthy, educated, clean and safe. Public service employees work their entire careers with the assurance and expectation that when they retire, their existing benefits will be preserved. Switching retirees and their beneficiaries to a privately administered Medicare Advantage plan could increase out-of-pocket expenses and reduce treatment options, since not all health providers accept Medicare Advantage.

Now is not the time to break promises and increase costs for New Yorkers who are on fixed incomes. After vowing not to pull a “bait-and-switch” just a few short months ago, the mayor has betrayed the trust of public service retirees. This decision must be immediately reversed.

– Edward Farrell, executive director, Retired Public Employees Association