Medicare and ‘misplaced power’ 

To the editor:

President Dwight D. Eisenhower left office warning that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex” and “[t]he potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power.”

A few days before leaving office, President Joe Biden cautioned that he is "equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex” and that we "are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power."

As a retiree from city civil service, I find that these words apply to abuses in our medical-industrial complex, particularly the lies being spread by health insurance companies about the virtues of Medicare Advantage.

We see the endless television commercials lauding its benefits, while the reality is that such plans are rife with fraud, pre-authorizations, delays and denials.

Nationally, insurance industry lobbyists descend on Congress and influence legislators to take a blind eye to reforms, aided by campaign contributions,

Locally, colluding union leadership (District Council 37 Executive Director and Municipal Labor Committee Co-Chairperson Henry Garrido) and elected officials (Council Speaker Adrienne Adams) pressured City Council members to oppose legislation protecting retiree benefits. The carrots and sticks were coveted committee positions, discretionary funding and campaign support.

I wonder what, if any, current or future rewards have been given or promised to union and City officials — including the mayor — in exchange for supporting a contract that Aetna stated in a press release is “valued at more than $15 billion over the initial five years and four months term of the agreement.”

I listened to Teamsters Local 237 President and MLC Secretary Gregory Floyd’s 2023 radio “interview” with Karen Ignagni, who at the time was president and CEO of EmblemHealth. It was basically an infomercial.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence that he is a board member and has advocated for Medicare Advantage. Alas, it is not reassuring.

Harry Weiner