As the New York City nurses strike enters its 12th day, some employees are set to lose eligibility for health benefits.
Montefiore Health System — one of three systems with nurses on strike — has informed its striking employees that benefits will end Feb. 1 if the strike is still ongoing.
“Montefiore has always been proud to provide free healthcare to our working nurses that includes no copays, no deductibles, free prescription drugs, dental, and vision, and we have always stated that these extremely generous benefits are not up for negotiation,” a system spokesperson said in a Jan. 22 statement shared with Becker’s.
As required by federal law, the system is notifying striking nurses that they will lose eligibility Feb. 1, at which point they may continue their coverage under COBRA at their own expense, the spokesperson said.
Nearly 15,000 nurses across Montefiore, Mount Sinai Health System and NewYork-Presbyterian walked out Jan. 12. Nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association have met with each of the four hospitals — Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside/West and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center — though all have previously said little progress has been made in negotiations.
Mount Sinai reached tentative agreements with the union on policies for employees with substance abuse disorders and is scheduled for another bargaining session Jan. 23, according to a Jan. 22 health system statement shared with Becker’s.
The union said it has been in contract talks for months over safe staffing, workplace violence protections and healthcare benefits. NYSNA has said health system leaders are threatening to “discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits,” which would affect not only striking workers but nearly 44,000 people enrolled in the union’s benefit plan. The systems have said there are no plans to cut benefits.
“We have proposed maintaining our nurses’ current employer-funded benefits,” a NewYork-Presbyterian spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker’s on Jan. 20. “To be clear, we are not eliminating health benefits. Our comprehensive proposal includes health benefits that are some of the best in the nation and far exceed what most private employees receive.”
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