For new educators, the sheer volume of forms to fill out, documents to sign and portals to access can be bewildering. But the city health plan and UFT Welfare Fund-provided supplemental health benefits are among a UFT member’s most valuable assets. It’s critical that you understand what you have so you and your eligible dependents can access these benefits when you need them.
The city of New York provides your health insurance, which covers major medical needs and a handful of prescription drugs, such as diabetes medication. As part of your enrollment in an NYC health plan, you also have access to the NYC PICA program, a prescription drug benefit program that provides coverage for select prescription drugs such as self-injectables and chemotherapy drugs. If you don’t have a PICA card, call 800-467-2006.
The UFT Welfare Fund provides an array of health benefits that supplement the city’s health plan coverage: most prescription drugs, dental and optical care and hearing aids. It also provides disability benefits, continuation of coverage (COBRA) if you go on leave while in service, and a health and cancer helpline at 212-539-0515.
UFT members employed by the Department of Education must enroll separately for the two sets of health benefits. You have to enroll in one of the city health plans within 30 days of your first day on payroll. To explore the various options, see the UFT Welfare Fund’s comparison chart of New York City health plans. Once you make a choice, you enroll in a city health plan through the New York City employee self-service portal. To receive your supplemental health benefits, you must enroll in the UFT Welfare Fund and upload the required documentation. Save your receipts for any prescription drugs you purchase so the UFT Welfare Fund can reimburse you once your enrollment is processed.
If you later have a major life change, such as marriage, divorce or the birth of a child, you should immediately update your eligible dependent information with both the UFT Welfare Fund and the DOE. The UFT Welfare Fund pays a death benefit to designated survivors when a UFT member dies while still in service, so be sure to update your beneficiaries as well.
If you have any problems or questions concerning your health benefits, please call the UFT Welfare Fund at 212-539-0500. While the UFT Welfare Fund doesn’t handle doctor or hospital coverage, it is equipped to assist members with any kind of inquiry about health benefits and can advocate for members who have issues with their New York City medical coverage.
“We offer a one-stop shop for members,” said Geof Sorkin, the executive director of the UFT Welfare Fund.
The UFT seeks out every opportunity to improve health benefits to support the health and well-being of you and your family.
In 2018, for example, the UFT negotiated six weeks of parental leave at full pay for DOE-employed UFT members, making it the first municipal union in New York City to secure paid parental leave for its members.
As of Dec. 1, 2024, the UFT Welfare Fund tripled the overall number of dentists in its most popular dental plan, the Scheduled Benefit Plan. The UFT Welfare Fund’s optical benefits also just improved. As of Jan. 1, UFT members can receive eyeglasses or contact lenses annually, instead of every two years, and members will now be reimbursed $250, up from $175. More than a thousand new optical providers joined the provider network.