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“Democracy Dies in Darkness” is The Washington Post’s motto. Another truism is that corruption flourishes without transparency and government oversight.
There is waste, fraud and abuse in connection with Medicare Advantage plans.
The elephant in the room is possible corruption or irregularities in the contract procurement process that awarded Aetna the city’s Medicare Advantage contract.
Proof is challenging because there are no paper trails. But consider the red flags.
An arbitrator, Martin Scheinman, issued an “Opinion and Award” selecting Aetna. However, there was no labor dispute to settle. The city and the Municipal Labor Committee had been trying in unison to force retirees into Medicare Advantage.
The Office of Labor Relations won’t divulge the identities and even the affiliations of evaluators, rejecting a Freedom of Information Law request. Their conflict of interest/nondisclosure form references nebulous “non-city employees” and “professional advisor/consultant(s).”
The MLC itself is exempt from FOIL, compounding the lack of transparency.
The New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees has alleged in a lawsuit (won in two lower courts and under review by the New York State Court of Appeals) that the city “conspired with Aetna to unlawfully restrain competition with respect to Retiree health insurance.”
The United States Department of Justice has filed a complaint against Aetna, alleging unlawful payments of “more than 80 million dollars in kickbacks” to health insurance brokers, to incentivize enrollments into their Medicare Advantage plans.
Where there’s smoke…
The City Council Committee on Oversight and Investigations, the Department of Investigation and Comptroller Brad Lander should all take note.
As should voters.
Harry Weiner
3 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
J.Donne
In terms of health benefits, this is not the first time that retirees have been deceived by the City of New York and DC 37. History seems to be repeating itself, albeit with slight variations!
Wednesday, May 14 Report this
harryw
I would like to add this postscript to my letter. The Wall Street Journal reports that United
Healthcare is under criminal investigation by the DOJ for Medicare Advantage fraud.
Emblem/United and Aetna are the finalists for the active workers’ health benefits contract.
Friday, May 16 Report this
krell1349
Scary times, indeed!!!
Saturday, May 17 Report this