As more employers switch to offering healthcare benefits to retired employees through Medicare Advantage, lawmakers are eyeing legislation to require employers to offer retirees a choice between traditional Medicare and MA.
U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres will introduce a "Right to Medicare" bill, requiring employers offering retirees healthcare benefits to allow them to opt-in to MA and also provide a traditional Medicare option.
In an Aug. 24 news release, Mr. Torres, a Democrat representing New York City, said the legislation is in response to the city's plan to shift 250,000 retired city employees from traditional Medicare to an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan.
A New York State Supreme Court judge permanently blocked the implementation of the contract, though New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city plans to challenge the decision.
A group of retirees filed a legal challenge to the contract, alleging offering Medicare Advantage as the only option for retirees violated the city's obligation to provide health benefits to its retired workers. The retirees expressed concerns a Medicare Advantage plan would have higher out-of-pocket costs and more limited networks than the Medigap plan the city previously provided retirees.
According to KFF, around 44 percent of employers offering Medicare Advantage only offer MA plans, while the remaining 56 percent offer MA and Medigap options.
"For me, there is no greater responsibility than the protection of healthcare to those in greatest need — our senior citizens. This is a public good for our senior citizens that must be protected from privatization," Mr. Torres said in the news release.