A few of our stories and columns are now in front of the paywall. We at The Chief-Leader remain committed to independent reporting on labor and civil service. It's been our mission since 1897. You can have a hand in ensuring that our reporting remains relevant in the decades to come. Consider supporting The Chief, which you can do for as little as $3.20 a month.
To the editor:
How disappointing and confusing it is for those of us who support Medicare For All to see Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorse Council Speaker Adrienne Adams for mayor. Adams has been in the front lines opposing municipal retirees' efforts to safeguard our Medicare benefits against the city's budget office and the short-sighted Municipal Labor Committee's plans to strip away our current benefits and force us into Medicare Advantage.
We applaud AOC and others in Washington who are exposing the massive fraud and medical malpractice of for-profit health insurance companies' Medicare Advantage and wonder why she would endorse one of the few Democratic mayoral candidates who support the switch to Medicare Advantage.
Retirees are also concerned about the recent announcement outlining a proposed in-service and pre-Medicare retiree healthcare plan. There are no public details, including whether Medicare Advantage or any other attempt to reduce retirees' benefits is off the table. This agreement was made by a lame duck MLC chairman and a soon to be lame duck mayor. The rank and file should know more about this tentative agreement and have a direct voice in accepting or rejecting it before they have to live with it for years to come.
Stuart Eber
The writer is president of the Council of Municipal Retiree Organizations.
Editor’s note: Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed five candidates in the mayor’s race, with Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani topping her ranked-choice list.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here