COGE or DOGE?

To the editor:

As reported by The Chief, the Mayor’s Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE) invited executive director Ann Cheng to attend a future Municipal Labor Committee meeting to gather feedback from labor leaders.  A June 10 letter from COGE stated that “We believe that true efficiency will be found by learning from the expertise and knowledge of our workforce.”

The name is unfortunate, as it is a reminder of DOGE, the federal Department of Government Efficiency, that took a slash and burn approach, e.g. cutting essential Social Security Administration staffing.  Coupled with a federal proposal to make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option, COGE needs to reassure retirees that any efficiencies won’t harm them.

So it is ominous that the Mayor appointed Municipal Labor Committee Acting Chair Henry Garrido to serve on COGE.  His fingerprints are all over actions that run counter to optimization and savings. 

Mr. Garrido championed forcing retirees into Medicare Advantage. Studies have confirmed that MA plans cost taxpayers far more than traditional Medicare and delivers worse outcomes for patients.

Ironically, an impetus for the switch to Medicare Advantage was the insolvency of the Health Insurance Stabilization Fund, mismanaged by the Office of Labor Relations and the MLC.  Former Comptroller Brad Lander’s audit of the Fund found that they did not take adequate steps to improve the Fund’s position while using it as a piggy bank for inappropriate spending.

Henry Garrido can’t dodge responsibility for these missteps.

Given the above, Ms. Cheng should ask pointed questions to MLC officers.

As of this writing, COGE is following the Mayor’s lead in not seeking input from retirees, who could share their own experiences, e.g. the financial pain of co-pays imposed in the name of savings.

But there will be public hearings, and our voices will be heard.

Information on COGE hearings can be found 

at https://www.nyc.gov/site/charter/index.page.

Harry Weiner