Shorted on Reimbursement
Transit Retiree Feels Pinch on Medicare B

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Frederick Harper's Medicare reimbursement check this year was, as usual, significantly lighter than his sister's.

'NO REASON FOR THIS': Retired Train Dispatcher Freddie Harper is receiving a lesser Medicare B reimbursement than this sister, a former city worker, simply because Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees were not included in legislation that became law six years ago.

A retired train dispatcher who worked for the old Transit Authority for 26 years, Mr. Harper received a check in August for $297.60 as a partial reimbursement for the money the government took out of his Social Security check for Medicare Part B last year. His sister, who is a retired member of District Council 37, got her check in August too, but it totaled $1,060.

'Left Out in Cold'

"I see no reason for this," Mr. Harper said. "We are New York City retirees too. Why should we be left out in the cold?"

Mr. Harper is one of thousands of retirees who worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who retired before 2001 and whose reimbursement for Medicare Part B was $24.80 per month, less than a third of his out-of-pocket cost. That reimbursement rate is contractually defined for members of the Subways-Surface Supervisors Association, Transport Workers Union Local 100, and the Amalgamated Transit Union locals in Queens and Staten Island. Those workers who retired after 2001 and have the New York State Health Insurance Plan (NYSHIP) received a monthly rate of $93.50, or $1,122 this year, but they pay much higher health-care premiums.

Other city workers, such as Teachers, social workers, clericals and hospital staff, two decades ago had their reimbursement rate cut so they received just two-thirds of Medicare B costs, but in 2001 the City Council passed legislation once again entitling them to a full reimbursement.

Because the MTA is a state agency, its employees were not covered by the legislation. The only way to increase the rate for MTA workers would be through legislation passed in Albany.

In the last round of contract talks, Local 100 included the full reimbursement as part of its demands, but the MTA wouldn't budge. The union was able to get full health-care coverage for retirees between 55 and 65 years old, but as a result of that contract, active members must now pay a percentage of their health-care premiums.

"I put in 26 years," said Mr. Harper. "I don't see where my work should be worth $700 less than other city workers. I'm hoping something can be done about it."