'Screwing over retirees': Seniors forced into for-profit Medicare Advantage plans

[justaprogressive]

New York State's highest court on Wednesday ruled against city retirees who had sought to block an effort by Mayor Eric Adams' administration to move them onto a for-profit, privatized Medicare Advantage plan.

In a unanimous decision, New York Court of Appeals Judge Shirley Troutman wrote that petitioners in the case are not entitled to "promissory estoppel" cause of action, the argument that the retirees throughout their employment with the city were promised traditional Medicare benefits when they retired.

According to Gothamist, "the court also ruled that the retirees did not have a legally binding promise from the city that their coverage would remain unchanged." The Wednesday ruling overruled a state Supreme Court judge’s decision that had prevented the Adams administration from making the switch, though the Court of Appeals said there were still issues in the case that should be sent back down to the Supreme Court, a lower court in New York's state system.

Medicare Advantage plans are run by private health insurers who receive money from the federal government to provide Medicare-covered services. Medicare Advantage enrollment around the country is growing, though the Medicare Advantage system has been accused of offering poor care and boosting corporate profits. A 2022 investigation by The New York Times found that major health insurers have exploited Medicare Advantage to juice their profits by billions of dollars.

https://www.alternet.org/retired-workers-forced-into-for-profit-medicare-advantage-plans/