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Know Your Benefits

Health services during pandemic

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The coronavirus pandemic has prompted city health care providers and the UFT Welfare Fund to retool how they provide services while offering extra support for those who become infected with the coronavirus.

EmblemHealth has beefed up its telehealth services (phone and video) so UFT members with GHI or HIP coverage can get informed advice from a health care professional without leaving their homes.

If you need to speak to a health care provider but can’t get in touch with a doctor, experienced licensed nurses are available around the clock at 877-444-7988 for confidential, one-on-one health counseling and accurate information to help you make informed health care decisions.

Teladoc, another program offered by EmblemHealth, provides 24/7 access seven days a week to board-certified, state-licensed doctors by phone or video. These doctors can send a prescription to your local pharmacy. If you are enrolled in GHI CBP, HIP HMO or HIP VIP, you can access this program immediately. (Medicare retirees with GHI SeniorCare coverage do not have access to the Teladoc program.)

To get started with Teladoc, register online or call 800-835-2362.

If you are an AdvantageCare Physicians (ACP) or a BronxDocs patient, you can arrange to speak with one of the practice’s medical providers through Zoom videoconferencing. Contact AdvantageCare Physicians at 646-680-4227 and BronxDocs at 646-680-5200.

Scheduling your appointment will include a brief questionnaire to assess your symptoms, risk and need for a virtual visit. Before the visit, you will be instructed on how to download the Zoom app.

Do you have questions about your health benefits or how to access care? If you are a GHI or GHI SeniorCare subscriber, call a customer service representative at 212-501-4444, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are a HIP subscriber, you can call 833-269-4653, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., or Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you are a HIP VIP subscriber, call a customer service representative at 877-344-7364, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UFT Welfare Fund benefits

  • If you require immediate assistance with a prescription drug issue, please call Express Scripts at 800-723-9182. You can also email the UFT Welfare Fund with your prescription issue at rxhelp [at] uftwf [dot] org (rxhelp[at]uftwf[dot]org).
  • Should you require assistance with any dental issue, please email dentalhelp [at] uftwf [dot] org (dentalhelp[at]uftwf[dot]org).
  • If you require assistance with a COBRA issue, please email cobrahelp [at] uftwf [dot] org (cobrahelp[at]uftwf[dot]org).
  • If you need help with any other issue regarding UFT Welfare Fund supplemental health benefits, please email healthbenefithelp [at] uftwf [dot] org (healthbenefithelp[at]uftwf[dot]org).

All of these UFT Welfare Fund email addresses are monitored from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

As a member of the UFT Welfare Fund, you and your eligible dependents can obtain optical services once every two years. The Welfare Fund also has a hearing aid benefit that members can obtain once every three years.

These benefits usually start with a certificate issued by the Welfare Fund, but the fund is unable to process certificates at this time due to the coronavirus crisis. You may still, however, use these benefits.

If you are eligible for optical services or a hearing aid, please make your purchase without a certificate, and the Welfare Fund will directly reimburse you in accordance with its benefit program after it resumes normal business.