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More than 100 legislators support proposal

January 24, 2007...Picking up where he left off last year with Massachusetts landmark health care reform bill, Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, has filed legislation to curb the ballooning cost of health care for many of the state’s cities and towns. Moore’s bill, representing a cooperative effort of legislative, municipal and union leaders, would allow municipalities, with the consent of their employees unions, to join the Commonwealth’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC).

“No issue is more difficult or causes more disruption to municipal finances than the skyrocketing cost of health insurance, and this legislation simply provides one new, powerful tool for cities and towns to consider together with their unions,” Moore explained.

With the support of more than 100 legislators, Sen. Moore and Rep. Rachel Kaprielian, D-Watertown, filed the reform legislation to ease the burden of skyrocketing health care insurance costs on municipalities, taxpayers and employees. Governor Deval Patrick also endorsed the concept at a recent meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. 

“We have received an overwhelmingly positive response to this proposal,” said Kaprielian. “Legislators and municipal officials agree that something must be done to stem the exorbitant cost of providing health insurance for municipal workers. This would bring real and meaningful relief from this fiscal spiral.”

This bill is the product of more than a year of discussion between legislative leaders, municipal officials, public employee union representatives and retiree representatives. Analysis demonstrates that many communities have the potential to save money both immediately and over the long term by joining the GIC, while at the same time providing the kinds of high quality health care options that state employees, including legislators, receive through the GIC. In many cases, the GIC plan offerings are significantly better for employees and retirees than what local governments can offer, although every local situation will be different and require careful analysis during negotiation.

Highlights of the proposal include:

• It would create a local option for cities and towns to purchase health insurance through the GIC. Analysis shows that the GIC’s high quality plans are generally significantly less expensive and provide more choices to employees and retirees than typical municipal options. Under the proposal, no community would be mandated to join the GIC.

• A decision to join the GIC would be made collectively among municipal leaders, public employee labor representatives, and retiree representatives. The proposal uses the existing mechanism called “coalition bargaining” to bring stakeholders together to make health care decisions.

• All decisions about contribution ratios – i.e., the percentage of health insurance premiums that are borne by employees or retirees, and the percentage borne by the municipality – would continue to be made at the local level. The GIC, however, would have responsibility for contracting with health care insurers and making plan design decisions. Municipal employees would be in the same insurance pool as all state employees, which currently covers more than 265,000 people in the Commonwealth.

• Municipalities would pay all costs associated with purchasing health insurance through the GIC, including a small administrative fee to the Commission. The proposal is structured to be self-financing and start-up costs for the Commonwealth would be nominal.

• As part of the proposal, the coalition seeks to expand the Commission by adding representatives of municipal management and public employee unions. These new additions would not change the balance of the Commission.

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