NEW CITY — CSEA is stepping up on behalf of Rockland County retirees after learning that County Executive Ed Day planned to switch retirees from the Empire Plan (NYSHIP) to lower cost coverage through Aetna as of April 1, an announcement that came with few details about the new insurance plan and left many retirees upset over the abrupt change.
As this edition went to press, legislators succeeded in getting Day to delay his official notice of withdrawal to NYSHIP, allowing needed time to research the Aetna plan. CSEA came to learn that Day and his team were privately planning the insurance change for 20 months, without informing legislators or retirees.
Riccaldo
“Our retirees were blindsided by this announcement,” said Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo. “This process was conducted entirely in private, with Ed Day directing the county’s insurance broker to issue a request for proposals instead of having a transparent process. It’s just disrespectful to our retirees who gave so much to our county to abruptly switch coverage.”
Riccaldo, CSEA Health Benefits Department Deputy Director Scott Futia and CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Larry Sparber joined retirees in addressing county legislators with questions and concerns at recent meetings. Legislature Chair Toney Earl and his colleagues, in turn, pressed the Day administration for information.
Riccaldo noted that many questions lingered even after retirees met with Aetna staff, due in part to the fact that
Aetna is customizing a plan for the Rockland retirees instead of going with one of its standard plans.
“We have no way of knowing if this coverage is equal to or better than the current coverage because we’ve gotten so few details about this customized Aetna plan,” Riccaldo said. “We have senior citizens worried that they may have to leave longtime doctors and specialists. We’re not letting this lack of transparency from Ed Day go any further without advocating on our retirees’ behalf. Even into retirement, we never quit on our members.”
The switch also affects active CSEA members employed by Rockland County, as those planning to retire soon would be placed in this same new insurance plan.
“This has mobilized our members,” said Rockland County Unit President Karen Nicholson. “Even those who aren’t planning on retiring soon see that this could eventually impact them. That this all played out behind closed doors has our members realizing we all need to stay engaged.”
— Jessica Ladlee
