Public Employee Press

Benefit News
Union health site now open to retirees in Puerto Rico with GHI

The Hoffa Medical Center in San Juan is now open to DC 37 retirees who live on the island. The center in the headquarters of Teamsters Local 901 has 12 GHI-accredited physicians.

The comprehensive medical care provided by the center, including physician care and radiology services, is available to all New York City retirees covered by GHI. Local 901 is also negotiating with GHI to cover lab services at the center, which has provided health care services to Teamsters on the island since the 1950s, according to Local 237’s Retiree News & Views newsletter.

In addition to being available to the 4,000 New York City retirees who reside on the island, the center will also be open to municipal employees with GHI coverage who need medical attention during visits to Puerto Rico.

“The expansion of coverage at the Hoffa Medical Center is great news that will mean ‘one-stop shopping’ for our members,” said Stuart Leibowitz, president of the DC 37 Retirees Association.

In addition to the center, GHI now has several laboratories and physicians around the island, thanks to a two-year campaign by the Local 237 Retirees Division to improve medical services for city retirees.

Benefits for married same-sex partners subject to federal tax
In an article last month about better tax treatment of DC 37 Health and Security Plan benefits for married same-sex partners, the Public Employee Press should have indicated that the value of the benefit to the spouse remains subject to the federal income tax.

The article reported that the union plan now provides benefits free of state and local income taxes to the spouses of members and retirees who were married in jurisdictions such as Canada and Massachusetts that permit same-sex marriages.