Adams shrugs off NYC teachers union pulling support for controversial Medicare Advantage plan

Mayor Adams shrugged off news Tuesday that the city teachers union no longer supports his controversial effort to enroll retired municipal workers in a Medicare Advantage plan, saying he’s confident his team will “resolve” the matter and that everything’s “going to be fine.”

The long-running push by Adams to shift the city government’s roughly 250,000 retirees into Advantage, a privatized version of traditional Medicare, has for years been backed by the Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella organization that represents the city’s public-sector unions, including the powerful United Federation of Teachers.

The plan could save the city $600 million a year thanks to higher federal subsidies afforded by Advantage, and the labor committee has supported the effort after saying it was assured retirees’ benefits will be commensurate with their current insurance coverage.

But United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, whose position comes with significant sway over the committee, announced Sunday his union no longer supports Adams’ Advantage plan.

Mulgrew’s change of heart followed his UFT caucus losing to the union’s retiree chapter in recent labor elections, seen as a strong rebuke of Mulgrew going along with the mayor on Advantage. Mulgrew said his switch was due to concerns that Adams’ administration is “more interested in cutting its costs than honestly working with us to provide high-quality health care to city workers.”

Given his influence over the Municipal Labor Committee, Mulgrew’s announcement has raised concern that the entire panel might withdraw its support of Advantage, which could effectively kill the plan, as it was designed in consultation with and contingent on support from the labor organization.

Asked Tuesday if he’s worried the rest of the Municipal Labor Committee could follow Mulgrew’s lead, Adams said he’s “extremely optimistic” about making progress on the Advantage effort.

“When you’ve been in this game as long as I have you realize there are bumps in the road, but they’re not the end of the road as long as you make the turn. We’re going to be fine,” he said.

Adams didn’t say if his administration has identified an alternative source for the $600 million in annual health care spending savings that the Advantage plan promises to generate. He did say Renee Campion, his labor relations commissioner, is working on that matter.

“You have a steady hand, green smoothie-drinking, meditating mayor that understands stuff just happens in this city, but we’re going to be fine,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the UFT didn’t offer comment in response to the mayor’s remarks.

In light of Mulgrew’s announcement, the Municipal Labor Committee’s executive committee is expected to meet Wednesday. Harry Nespoli, the Municipal Labor Committee’s chairman, told the Daily News earlier this week he hopes to get all the panel’s unions on the same page during that meeting as it relates to support for the Advantage plan.

Separate from the Municipal Labor Committee debacle, a group of retired city cops, firefighters and teachers have for years fought the Advantage switchover in court over fears that it’ll dilute their health insurance coverage. They allege the switchover violates local administrative laws, and several courts have agreed with them, ruling that the Adams administration’s plan is illegal and blocking it from being implemented.

The Adams administration asked New York’s top court last month to hear its appeal of those lower-court rulings. It remains unclear if the top court will agree to do so.