According to Legislative Chairman Bill Hill, “We also expect that there will be a concerted effort to quickly push this legislation through the State House. Governor Patrick has come out and endorsed the idea, and more than a majority of the Senate and House membership has signed onto either Sen. Moore’s or Rep. Kaprielian’s bill.”

Last year, we reported on our involvement with the Municipal Health Insurance Working Group (May 2006 Voice). Comprised primarily of leaders from our Association, public employee unions and municipal government, this special group attempted to develop solutions that would help to stabilize insurance costs.

While a consensus could not be reached among the entire group, some participants, including our Association, drafted a proposal for municipalities to join the state Group Insurance Commission. “We weren’t satisfied over certain aspects, particularly how much ‘say’ retirees would be given over insurance decisions at both the state and local levels,” continued Hill.

“Nevertheless, the proposal, which we helped to draft and support, presents a reasonable approach for local retirees, employees and officials to possibly reduce their insurance costs - an approach that may be the solution for some but not necessarily all communities. That proposal is reflected in the Moore and Kaprielian bills.”Coalition Bargaining As Centerpiece

Essentially the legislation does the following. It uses, as its centerpiece, the existing coalition bargaining law (Section 19, Chapter 32B) that our Association has been promoting over the years. Briefly, Section 19 is a local option law, which if adopted, provides that designees from our Association and employee unions will act together as a public employee committee (PEC) and negotiate with officials over their health insurance program.As envisioned in the Moore and Kaprielian bills, local retirees, employees and officials must first agree to enter into negotiations under Section 19, in order to reach an agreement on the health insurance program. These negotiations between the PEC members  and municipal representatives could include the option of joining the GIC for a minimum of 3 years.If the parties decide to do just that, the town’s retirees and employees would be enrolled in the state’s largest insurance pool, administered by the GIC. They would also be able to choose among the relatively expansive menu of insurance plans offered, by the GIC, to state retirees.

Other features of the coalition bargaining law, as it’s currently constituted, remain intact. For example, premium contribution rates, for retirees and employees, will be agreed upon during local negotiations, and everyone - retirees, survivors and employees - will contribute the same amount for a particular plan.