From the Office of the Union President: PPO PLAN TRANSITION PROCESS at TRANSIT AUTHORITY
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Memo
To: Locals 154, 983, 1407, 1655, 2627, and 3652
From: Ben Totushek
Date: 12/26/2025
Re: PPO PLAN TRANSITION PROCESS at TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Dear Transit Presidents:
As you know, the City is currently changing PPO plans, from the current one commonly known as GHI, to the new NYCE PPO plan, effective January 1, 2026.
Initially, Transit was was under the impression that its comparable GHI PPO plan, known as the Emblem CBP Plan, was excluded from this transition, but after I relayed the questions from several of you to Labor Relations, they realized that their CBP plan would also be transitioning to the NYCE PPO Plan, effective January 1. By the time Transit had realized this, however, the City’s November open enrollment period had already passed. When I raised that additional issue with Labor Relations, they spoke to their benefits team and Emblem, and were able to work out the following:
- A Transit-only open enrollment period for all members on City Plans will take place in the entire month of January, 2026, and
- Notice of that open enrollment period will be mailed out to all members of this bargaining unit by no later than 12/31/2025.
- Members not on the Emblem CBP who take no action during the open enrollment period will maintain their current plan.
- Members currently on the Emblem CBP plan who take no action during the open enrollment period will be defaulted into the NYCE PPO plan until the next open enrollment period.
- This means that if a member elects to change their health benefit plan, the change will be effective 2/1/2026. All current open enrollment rules will still apply.
I have been persistently nagging Transit Labor Relations for a concrete date to share with you all that notice of all this would be mailed out to the members, and urging them that it be expedited as much as possible; I have just learned of the above mailing date today.
Note that because the CBP PPO plan is ending as of 1/1/2026, those members currently enrolled will default into the NYCE PPO plan for the duration of the January 2026 open-enrollment period, at which time they can choose whether to keep that coverage or select an alternate plan to begin effective 2/1/2026. For these members, insurance cards for the NYCE PPO plan have been mailed out and should already have been received.
Please also note that some members were mailed the wrong cards by Emblem, of which we informed Transit Labor Relations earlier this month, who in turn informed Emblem, and Emblem has since mailed the correct cards out which should already have been received.
Thanks for your attention and patience with us as we have worked to pin down all the essential information. Please feel free to share this information with your members.
In Solidarity,
Ben Totushek
Assistant Director
DC37 Research and Negotiations
(212) 815-1470
CC: Dan Katz, Stacey Peyton, Rose Lovaglio-Miller, Jake Foley-Keene
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