Retired New York City workers speak out against plans to change Medicare benefits
NEW YORK -- Retired New York City workers continue to fight to hold on to their Medicare benefits.
Thursday, retirees gathered outside City Hall to speak out against the city's plan to change their health care. About 250,000 retired municipal workers will be impacted.
They say the new privatized Medicare Advantage plan will limit their access to providers at higher costs.
"We're very upset about it. We're very scared. We need our quality health care that we've always received through the city and through our unions," retired teacher Sarah Shapiro said. "We don't believe that our health care should be privatized."
The plan is temporarily on hold after a state Supreme Court ruling last week.
In a statement, a City Hall spokesperson said in part, "Further delay in implementing it will only cause greater uncertainty for our retirees and have a detrimental impact on our city's budget."