Arbitrator: NYC should shift to Medicare Advantage for retirees

An arbitrator is directing New York City to quickly move ahead with a plan to transfer some 250,000 municipal retirees from their current Medicare coverage to a Medicare Advantage plan operated by Aetna Inc. – despite ongoing and persistent efforts by some retirees to block the move, Gothamist reports. The switch was proposed in 2018 to save the city about $600 million annually thanks to federal subsidies available to Medicare Advantage plans, according to city estimates.