MetroPlusHealth Partnered With New York Hotel Trade Council to Assist Displaced Workers in the Hotel and Hospitality Industry During COVID-19

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic when workers in the hotel and hospitality industry were being laid off and losing their health care coverage, MetroPlusHealth, New York City’s five-star health plan, partnered with the New York Hotel Trade Council (NYHTC) to establish a seamless process ensuring the continuity of care for members and their families. This service has resulted in no interruption in care and/or treatment plans for over 5,000 displaced New York City hotel and hospitality workers to date.

The NYHTC Employee Benefit Funds provide health, pension, and other benefits to over 90,000 Union members, dependents, and retirees of the New York City hotel industry.

When New Yorkers in the hotel and hospitality industry were struggling with job loss, financial instability and interruption in their health care/health insurance during a global pandemic, MetroPlusHealth positioned Marketplace Facilitated Enrollers (MFE) at several medical centers and administrative offices where the Hotel Fund Trade Association provided services to their Union members and managerial employees. By doing so, MetroPlusHealth staff assisted hotel workers with patient health insurance education and enrollment, primary care physician selection, and appointment setting.

“As New York City’s health plan, we are here for our fellow New Yorkers. MetroPlusHealth MFEs ensured that the enrollment process was easy and convenient to reduce the burden and anxiety that many hotel workers were experiencing due to their loss of employment and health insurance coverage,” said Dr. Talya Schwartz, President and CEO of MetroPlusHealth. “We stood by the hotel community because their workers needed us, and we needed to be there for them.”

“When you lose your job, you lose the benefits that come with it, and that includes access to health care. In a normal world, you would start another job which would provide health insurance coverage, but because of the pandemic, that wasn’t the case,” said Roger Milliner, Chief Growth Officer at MetroPlusHealth. “Due to COVID-19, New Yorkers in the hotel and hospitality industry were losing their jobs without a backup plan, so we made it our priority to ensure that hotel workers and their families were covered.”

For a list of MetroPlus locations and hours of operation, visit https://www.metroplus.org/business‐community‐partners/metroplus‐near‐you.

About MetroPlusHealth

Since 1985, MetroPlusHealth Plan has built a reputation for providing access to affordable, quality health care to residents across New York City. MetroPlusHealth is the plan of choice for over 600,000 New Yorkers and has a five-star rating based on the State’s 2020 Consumer’s Guide to Medicaid and Child Health Plus Managed Care Plans in New York City. The health plan’s robust network of primary care doctors and specialists includes many independent community providers. Culturally sensitive, and fluent in more than 40 languages, MetroPlusHealth’s staff is as diverse as the great City it serves. For more information about MetroPlusHealth plans, benefits, and services, visit www.metroplus.org and join the conversation at facebook.com/metroplushealth and Twitter @metroplushealth.

MetroPlusHealth is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest public health system. For a list of MetroPlusHealth locations and hours of operations, visit metroplus.org/metroplus-near-you.

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Divendra Jaffar
212-908-3380/646-952-3243

[email protected]

Source: MetroPlusHealth Plan