June 27, 2023
The NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees held a news conference on the sidewalk outside of City Hall on Monday morning. Spokesperson Marianne Pizzatola said the purpose was to “condemn their former union and stand up for the great Council person who introduced INTRO 1099 (Charles Barron) that would protect retirees’ access to traditional Medicare.”
Several Council Members including two of the bill’s twelve sponsors, Ari Kagan and Joann Ariola, were also on hand. Municipal retirees took turns at the mic and shared their stories. One retiree, John T Pinard, explained that he made career changes that set back his wages based on promised coverage which the Aetna”Medicare Advantage” scheme has now taken away.
John T Pinard
(l-r) Kagan, Pizzatola, Ariola.
“This bill would require the City to offer Medicare-eligible city retirees and their Medicare-eligible dependents at least one Medigap plan with benefits equivalent to or better than those available to city retirees and their dependents as of December 31, 2021. The bill would not impair employee organizations from negotiating terms and conditions of employment for their employee members.”
~INTRO 1099
*qphotonyc is a retired NYC public employee.