Re-Evaluating Benefits Change For Rockland Retirees

Rockland County will re-evaluate its proposed retiree health insurance plan change to Aetna Insurance from the New York State Health Insurance Plan provided by the Empire Plan. County Executive Ed Day announced a further delay than county lawmakers had already elicited, citing concerns about Aetna based on California's probe into its denial of claims.

But Rockland County Legislators Toney L. Earl and Alden H. Wolfe said pausing any changeover to Aetna for the foreseeable future doesn’t go far enough when it comes to protecting health insurance coverage for county government retirees.

“Due to recent reports in the media concerning Aetna Insurance and their business practices, Rockland County will not be moving forward with changes to the retiree health insurance coverage for the foreseeable future. My administration is re-evaluating the process while continuing to look out for the health and well-being of our retirees,” County Executive Ed Day announced at a press conference Tuesday.

Wolfe said the proposed switch has been flawed from the start and continues to put retirees in a vulnerable position.

“The decision announced by the Administration today reads like damage control,” Wolfe said. “It gives a convenient reason to back away from something politically unpopular and disastrous for our retirees. I’m shocked that Ed Day would continue to stand by a plan that would force many retirees to change their current doctors and treatment.”

Day said it wasn't about playing politics, it was about financial responsibility. Rockland County has recently climbed out of its multi-year fiscal crisis.

"Fiscal responsibility has been one of my mantras since the earliest days of my administration but I have not once lost sight of the true goal; the health and well-being of all county residents. It is simply unacceptable to put county retirees at risk, Aetna Insurance needs to provide clarity to their reported business practices," he said. "I have no doubt that this is the right thing to do, as these practices cut to the core of care and must be addressed, we will protect the health of our retirees no matter what.

“While others have resorted to fearmongering and playing politics it is the steady assessment practices of my administration that have brought us here, and these same assessment practices that have now given me pause. I look forward to Aetna’s explanation of their clinical review process and any clarity they can provide on this subject,” Day said.

The County Executive previously said about 2,600 county government retirees 65 and older would be switched from United Health Care to the Aetna Medicare Advantage plan as of April 1.

More than 180 retirees have called, emailed or sent letters to the Legislature voicing their concerns and disapproval of a switch in health care insurance coverage, lawmakers said. Several have spoken at Legislative meetings.

They are particularly concerned about what the potential changes of a combined Medicare-health insurance plan, referred to as a Medicare Advantage plan, could mean for them. Many said they prefer the current setup: a traditional Medicare plan and a separate supplementary insurance plan.

Several retirees have informed legislators that they have been told the Aetna plan will not be accepted by the places where they are currently receiving coverage, including a Rockland man diagnosed with cancer who uses Sloan-Kettering, and an Arizona woman with Stage IV cancer who uses the Mayo Clinic, lawmakers said.

The Legislature received notice Monday that the state Civil Service Department, which oversees benefits to retirees, was moving the date to June 1.

The Legislature expected to hear Tuesday from representatives of Aetna and the Segal Company (Eastern States Inc.), the company hired by the Administration to write the request for proposals to solicit a new health insurance provider, analyze the proposals, and make a recommendation.

“We still have many questions and we will continue to pursue the information that is critical to allowing a proper review of this entire process,” Earl said. “We have some breathing room, but not much, when you consider all the details that must be thoroughly researched. Our retirees deserve no less after their many years of service to the people of Rockland County.”

County law prohibits any diminishment to retiree health insurance coverage, yet no final draft of the Aetna policy is available. That makes it impossible to compare the current Empire plan to the proposed new Aetna Medicare Advantage plan, lawmakers complained.

PHOTO: County Executive Ed Day/ County Executive's Office