Release #190 -99

Contact: Sunny Mindel/Jennifer Chait (212) 788-2958

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that an agreement has been reached with the Municipal Labor Committee, the committee responsible for negotiating health insurance benefits on behalf of City employees and retirees with the City, to improve the GHI-CBP/Blue Cross program for City employees and retirees. The improved health benefits will be provided at no additional cost to employees or to the City.

The following additional benefit enhancements in the GHI-CBP/Blue Cross program have been agreed upon with the Municipal Labor Committee which is responsible for negotiating health insurance benefits with the City of New York on Behalf of City employees:

• Coverage for up to 90 days in a Skilled Nursing Facility;
• Coverage for cardiac rehabilitation at Blue Cross network facilities for up to a maximum of 36 visits annually, with no cost to the patient;
• A reduction of co-payment limits for GHI participating laboratories and x-rays from the current limit of two per day to one per day;
• Emergency room coverage for physicians and radiology care in cases where the physicians bill separately for emergency room services.