NYC Retirees Settle Class Action Copay Case in a Historic Settlement

NYC and EmblemHealth Settle Senior Care Co-Pay Class Action for $53Million

New York, NY, August 3, 2026 – In a major development, the City of New York and EmblemHealth agreed to pay $53 million to settle a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than 250,000 elderly and disabled retired City workers enrolled in EmblemHealth’s GHI Senior Care Plan. The suit was brought by the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees and a handful of retirees. The signed settlement papers were sent to New York County Supreme Court Justice Lyle E. Frank for the Court’s approval.

The settlement refunds co-pays that retirees were unlawfully charged for medical visits between January 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023. The $53 million represents 100 percent of the co-pays retirees had been charged. In addition to the monetary settlement, the City and EmblemHealth also agreed not to increase the existing $15 Senior Care co-pays through at least December 31, 2027.

The $53 million settlement amount is one of the largest class action settlements in New York City history. In addition, the lawsuit saved retirees an estimated $106million through a temporary injunction, which halted the co-pays for two years.

This settlement is just the latest healthcare victory by the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, which has, to date, collectively saved retirees approximately $3.16 billion since 2022. The Organization stopped the City from forcing retirees to pay for Senior Care, which the City itself has valued at $600 million per year; prevented the City and EmblemHealth from charging retirees co-pays in 2023 and 2024, which (according to EmblemHealth’s records) was worth approximately $106 million; and pioneered this class action settlement that is returning $53 million to the pockets of retirees.

“This is a wonderful victory for retirees,” said Marianne Pizzitola, president of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, one of the named plaintiffs. “The older people get, the more likely they are to need medical care, and co-pays are one of the worst, most regressive burdens making healthcare unaffordable. We hope Mayor Mamdani and City Council Speaker Menin recognize this and roll back co-pays.”

“Retired City workers have proven once again that they will fight relentlessly, and successfully, to protect their healthcare rights, which have been under constant attack for the past five years,” said Jacob Gardener of Walden Haran Williams LLP, one of the lead attorneys for the retirees.

“It is another step forward in ensuring affordable healthcare for our seniors,” said Steve Cohen of Pollock Cohen LLP, the other lead attorney for the retirees. “Now we have to get the City Council and the Mayor to eliminate co-pays for seniors entirely. They were promised and deserve free healthcare in retirement.”

The Settlement Papers can be found here

In the next few weeks, we will explain what is next and hold ZOOM calls to help guide you. Just make sure you have your receipts safe in a folder. There will be lots of procedures to go over, the Court still needs to sign off on this too. So please be patient and know that we will guide you through the next steps like we always do!

Just give us some time to get there. We couldn't be happier to get you to this place - and we look forward to informing you more by the end of the week.

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NICE TURNOUT AT ESOGUARD PROCEDURE

If you attended our June Meeting, you were treated to a talk about Esophageal Cancer.

Lauren Sheets was the representative from Esoguard.

She was there to give a brief explanation about the exam and then she signed up a number of retirees to attend the 7/28/26 session.

Well, there we were on Tuesday and 50 showed up for the exam.

It was a great turnout from our FDNY RMA Membership.

Many had questions as they sat down and filled out the required forms.

Everyone was upbeat and looked forward to the procedure.

Two nurses from ESOGUARD administered the exam.

Lauren answered any last-minute questions.

After each procedure I asked each member how it went and they

all said it was quick and easy. Each member will get their results in about two weeks. If anything is found the next step would be to get an Upper GI, aka Upper Endoscopy & further evaluation.

We started at 9am sharp and ended at 3pm.

Lauren wishes to come back to the September Meeting to sign up

more members for a second session. Our September Meeting

will be held at the Elk's Club on Tuesday Sept. 29th, 2026 at 7:30pm.

We will see you in September, so have a great Summer...

For more information about the exam >Click Here: Esophageal Cancer | EsoGuard | United States

ESS ACCESS FOR RETIRED MEMBERS

In light of the latest changes to the tax code, some recently retired members require access to the active member Employee Self Service (ESS) application to retrieve their 2025 overtime information. The Office of Payroll Management has provided the guidance below regarding ESS for retirees. Please follow the steps carefully. If you have gone through all of the steps listed below and are still having issues, call ESS at 212-487-0500 between the hours of 9 AM - 5 PM Mon-Fri (excluding holidays) for further assistance.

Active/Resigned/Retired Employees Seeking 2025 OT Info

Active/Resigned/Retirees can update their email address via ESS by clicking on the Personal Details tile and updating their contact information. Please note that they will not be able to remove the FDNY email, but they can add a personal email address. They will then be provided the option to pick one of the two emails to receive a verification code to access ESS. Active/Resigned/Retired employees accessing ESS via http://www.nyc.gov/ess to retrieve 2025 OT info who encounter multi authentication can reach-out to NYCAPS for assistance via email:employeesupport@dcas.nyc.gov or call: 212-487-0500 9 AM - 5 PM Mon-Fri (excluding holidays).Resigned/Retired employees have limited ESS access, including access to the Pay and Tax information tile for up to one year after Resigning/Retiring.

Employees not familiar with ESS, please refer to following instructions below

EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE

What is Employee Self-Service?

Employee Self-Service (ESS) is an online tool that provides NYC employees with easy access to human resources, payroll, tax, City job applications and benefits information.Update personal information, such as name, address, emergency contact and phone number(FDNY & DSNY have view-only access to emergency contacts)
Update health benefits information for you and your family
View pay stub information from current and prior years
Change tax withholdings
View and print W-2s, 1127 and 1095-C forms from prior tax years
View and print Employment Verification Letters
Enroll, update, suspend or cancel your Commuter Benefits payroll deductions
Enroll, view and update your NY 529 College Savings Program payroll deductions
Enroll, view and update your IRA payroll deductions
Enroll and view your Treasury Direct deductions
View and apply for jobs open to City employees
Print your electronic CPD-B (if you have previously completed a CPD-B online)

Where do I log in to ESS?

From home, or a public place, log in through the Internet at http://www.nyc.gov/ess Muti-factor authentication(two-step verification process) is required to access ESS via the Internet, you must have a valid email address in ESS.

What if I don’t have a valid email in ESS?

For assistance, email: employeesupport@dcas.nyc.gov or call: 212-487-0500 9 AM - 5 PM Mon-Fri (excluding holidays)

What if I forget my password?

Use the “Forgot Password” link on the login page and follow the instructions to answer the security questions you previously set up. If you have forgotten the answers to your security questions, or are unable to log in using your password, contact NYCAPS Central at employeesupport@dcas.nyc.gov to have your password reset.

WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM IS NOW FULLY FUNDED!

BARASCH McGARRY IS VICTORIOUS

Today marks a historic and hard-fought victory for the 9/11 community, an achievement that will save lives. Congress has finally passed a bill that assures long-term funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, ensuring continued access to free monitoring, treatment, and cancer screenings for years to come. Had this funding not been secured, the Health Program would not have been able to accept new patients after 2027.

Full funding means stability. It means certainty. And most importantly, it means that those whose health has been impacted in the aftermath of September 11th will not be abandoned.

Securing support from members of Congress outside of the New York area was a challenge. Justice did not come easily. It is the result of years of relentless advocacy by the 9/11 community, responders, survivors, families, doctors, union leaders, and advocates; all who refused to accept broken promises or temporary solutions.

Our firm is proud to have stood alongside you in this fight. Our partners and staff proudly made dozens of trips to Washington in 2025 to make sure that the voices of both responders and civilians in the 9/11 community were heard loud and clear. We reminded legislators of their promise to “never forget.” Fortunately, this time they listened!

As we approach the 25th remembrance of September 11, 2001, today’s news carries special meaning. While this is a major milestone, our work is not finished. We must now press Secretary Kennedy to restore the 120 NIOSH positions mandated under the original James Zadroga Act, reinstate coverage for heart and autoimmune diseases, and fully restore research funding.

A special thank you to those who heeded our call to action and called your legislators and demanded their support. Your involvement and advocacy made a difference.

With deep respect,
Michael Barasch

WE ARE STILL ALIVE, DON'T LISTEN TO HERESAY

COURT CASE UPDATES

Copays from January 1, 2022- January 12, 2023 - if you were on Senior Care ONLY this pertains to you! You must start putting proof of copay payment together. We are nearing a settlement with the city to pay us back the copays they illegally charged to senior care retirees during that time. Proof is a receipt, cancelled checks, medical records that show payment. Please put these in a folder.

There are no other updates. The lawyers are still going back and forth. We are still fighting the Copay Case, and the Bentkowski case to stop the city from forcing us into Medicare Advantage was sent back to the Supreme Court. Some of you emailed us thinking this was over because of a Florida group spreading disinformation. IT IS NOT OVER. While the court overturn the lower courts stating they did not believe we proved a promise was made that they can force the city to uphold, they DID NOT overturn the lower court findings that many retirees would not have access to their doctors and hospitals who don't accept Medicare Advantage and that they would also not get the care their doctors ordered due to prior authorization. The Court determined Medicare Advantage is a diminished plan! We still need the support to fund the organization's mission to fight these cases! We have been successful 11 times in court. We are also still working on city and state legislation for codify protecting your healthcare.

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OUR NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY SEPT. 29th @ Our NEW HYDE PARK Location

NYC Retirees Settle Class Action Copay Case in a Historic Settlement

NICE TURNOUT AT ESOGUARD PROCEDURE

ESS ACCESS FOR RETIRED MEMBERS

WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM IS NOW FULLY FUNDED!

BARASCH McGARRY IS VICTORIOUS

WE ARE STILL ALIVE, DON'T LISTEN TO HERESAY

COURT CASE UPDATES

Download The 2026 RMA Application:

RALLY FOR THE NEW HEALTHCARE BILL; 1096

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America’s Seniors are gonna get screwed for Wall Street’s growing disenchantment with MAP

https://hc4us.org/americas-seniors-are-about-to-pay-a-high-price-for-wall-streets-growing-disenchantment-with-medicare-advantage-health-care-un-covered/

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Download The 2026 RMA Application:

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