Judge Blocks Medicare Advantage Switch for 250,000 Retirees

A Manhattan judge is pressing pause on a controversial plan to push New York City government retirees onto a new privatized version of Medicare this fall – a major victory for critics of the switch.

In a plan that city officials said would save some $600 million a year, municipal retirees were supposed to be moved from their existing coverage – a combination of traditional Medicare with supplemental coverage paid for by the city – onto a private Medicare Advantage plan run by Aetna this fall. City officials had scheduled the deadline to opt out for this coming Monday, but seniors who decided to stay on traditional Medicare would have had to waive their city benefits and pay for their health coverage themselves.