By Steve Wishnia

New York City Councilmember Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan) is lead sponsor of the bill that would require NYC to continue offering retired municipal workers traditional Medicare plans, instead of switching them to for-profit Medicare Advantage plans—but none of his 17 colleagues in the Council’s Progressive Caucus have signed on as cosponsors.

City retirees have won several court rulings against Mayor Eric Adams’ moves to force them into Medicare Advantage, most recently a state Court of Appeals decision issued Dec. 17. Those plans, run by large insurance companies, have lower premiums than Medicare supplemental-insurance plans, but often deny or delay coverage, especially for people with severe illnesses. They also cost the Medicare system more than traditional plans, due to profits, higher administrative costs, and frequent “upcoding” of diagnoses to make patients seem sicker than they actually are.

Work-Bites sent questions about support for the Marte bill, Intro 1096, to the 17 other Progressive Caucus members, and received only three answers.

“Thanks for reaching out, we are not going to give comment on that at this time,” a spokesperson for Councilmember Sandy Nurse (D-Brooklyn) said in an email. “The CM is on maternity leave, so unable to provide a comment at this time,” wrote a spokesperson for Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez (D-Brooklyn). A spokesperson for Councilmember Julie Won [D-Queens] advised trying another contact. 

None of the 14 others—neither Carlina Rivera and Carmen De La Rosa of Manhattan; nor Pierina Ana Sanchez, Althea Stevens, and Amanda Farías of the Bronx; nor Tiffany Cabán, Shekar Krishnan, and Dr. Nantasha Williams of Queens; nor Lincoln Restler, Crystal Hudson, Chi Ossé, Alexa Avilés, Shahana Hanif, and Rita Joseph of Brooklyn—responded.

Protecting Medicare has become more important as Donald Trump prepares to become President. Russell Vought, his choice to lead the federal Office of Management and Budget, was one of the key figures in developing Project 2025—which advocated legislation to have people turning 65 automatically enrolled in Medicare Advantage, instead of in traditional Medicare, and to remove regulations that “micromanage” Medicare Advantage plans.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has advocated moving all Americans, except for those on Medicaid, into Medicare Advantage plans, and pay for it with a 20% payroll tax. As of 2022, he owned $550,000 in stock in Medicare Advantage provider UnitedHealth Group and $50,000 in CVS/Aetna.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest in November called Dr. Oz one of “a clown car full of unqualified quacks” Trump has chosen for health-care posts, citing his touting “the debunked hydroxychloroquine ‘treatment’ for COVID-19.”

However, Marte bill’s six cosponsors include more Trump supporters than Progressive Caucus members. Three are Republicans: Vickie Paladino of Queens, Inna Vernikov of Brooklyn, and Kristy Marmorato of the Bronx. Two others, Kalman Yeger of Brooklyn and Robert Holden of Queens, are Democrats who were endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties when they ran for re-election in 2021 and 2023.

The sixth, Linda Lee (D-Queens), is a former social-services nonprofit executive who often focuses on mental health and issues affecting the elderly.

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