In a total victory for the union's long battle to win full reimbursement
of Medicare Part B pension deductions, more than 100,000 retirees
will get payments totaling $680.40 in August.
The retirees' five-year struggle ended in June, when the Bloomberg
administration withdrew a lawsuit filed by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The suit had blocked implementation of the 2001 law mandating full
city reimbursement of retirees' contributions to their Medicare Part
B premiums.
Former municipal employees normally get city reimbursement for the
previous year's Medicare deductions from their Social Security in
August, but this year's payment will be the largest yet. It will include
$80.40, retroactive for 2000, plus the full $600 reimbursement for
2001.
"Mayor Bloomberg did the right thing," said DC 37 Retirees
Association President Stuart Leibowitz. "The city's decision
to back off the suit acknowledges its legal and moral obligation to
provide for the health care needs of retired employees."
The new Medicare Part B law represents a major legislative triumph
for the Retirees Association and DC 37, which lobbied hard to pass
it last year.