Healthcare Savings

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Healthcare Savings Initiatives

Since 2014, the City of New York and the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) have worked together to protect the high-quality, premium-free health coverage that NYC families rely on. Our goal is to provide sustainable, top-tier care while managing rising healthcare costs through smarter, modern solutions.

Building a Smarter Healthcare Program

Through our ongoing partnership, we have introduced several initiatives to improve care and reduce unnecessary costs, including:

  • Preventive and Primary Care Focus: Adjusting copays to encourage routine check-ups and primary care, ensuring you get the right care at the right time.
  • Specialized Care: Partnering with world-class facilities like Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) for oncology and orthopedics.
  • Expanded Support: Introducing the WINFertility program to assist families with infertility issues and increasing access to telemedicine and behavioral health services.
  • Streamlined Care: Using care management programs to guide patients toward the best outpatient settings, such as ambulatory centers for routine procedures instead of in a hospital facility.
  • Optimizing Our Plans: We’ve made strategic updates to our existing plans—such as restructuring how the City funds our largest plan (the CBP) to lower its fees and assessments and creating a value-based model for the HIP HMO by securing lower costs for in-network providers. We also renegotiated our specialty drug program to ensure we are getting the best value for these essential medications.

The New NYCE PPO Plan

In 2023, we sought to modernize our benefits even further. We partnered with EmblemHealth and UnitedHealthcare to launch the NYCE PPO (New York City Employees Preferred Provider Plan), which officially began on January 1, 2026. This new plan offers significant upgrades for employees, pre-Medicare retirees and their eligible dependents:

  • A Nationwide Network: Access to a much broader range of doctors and hospitals across the country.
  • Enhanced Behavioral Health: A significantly expanded network of mental health providers and telehealth options.
  • Better Digital Tools: A mobile app that puts your plan information at your fingertips.
  • Preferred Access: No copays at NYC Health + Hospitals facilities, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Hospital for Special Surgery, and AdvantageCare Physicians.
  • Expanded Wellness: More resources to help you and your family stay healthy.

Learn more at nyceppo.com