Mayor Eric Adams on Friday said he was abandoning his years-long effort to move retired city workers onto higher-cost healthcare plans — despite scoring a major legal win in the controversial case earlier this week.
The mayor, who is running as an independent in the November general election, had been the only major candidate in the race backing Medicare Advantage, a private plan that uses Medicare subsidies rather than the traditional program offered to retired city workers.
But Adams flip-flopped on Friday, announcing in a statement that his sudden change of heart stemmed from town halls and public events with retirees who said they were worried about the change.
“We have informed union leadership that we are pursuing other avenues for improving health care for city workers that will provide even better outcomes, and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners on the best path forward,” he said.
The mayor’s office did not clarify what other options they were considering at this time.
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It came just two days after New York’s Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled in favor of the Adams administration, finding the city could legally shift retirees to Medicare Advantage plans after years of fighting by advocacy groups.
Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa jumped on the mayor’s about-face, slamming it as a nakedly political move.
“Now, just days after the Court of Appeals ruled in his favor, and just as his reelection prospects dim, Eric Adams suddenly finds the backbone to stop his assault on our retirees,” Sliwa said in a statement.
He claimed that Adams would break his promise and go back to supporting the health-care plan if he was re-elected.
An Adams campaign representative did not respond to a request for comment.
Medicare Advantage was originally introduced in 2021 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, who argued that the program would save the city over $600 million a year.
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