JAN 2007 - Several Options As They Switch To State Plan - City of Springfield retirees went to church on October 31. And no, it wasn’t a Halloween Party, nor was it a church service. It was a Baptist Church, the “Church in the Acres,” where the City’s Personnel Director, Marilyn Montagna, addressed a standing-room-only crowd of retirees on the upcoming change in retirees’ health insurance.

In an effort to cut costs, the city’s leaders and unions earlier agreed to transfer their insurance plan to the Commonwealth’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC), where their 20,000 employees, retirees and dependents would become included in the GIC’s current pool of 265,000 participants.

 Because of the GIC’s volume of members and ability to negotiate favorable rates, it is expected that the city, and hopefully in the long run, employees and retirees will save money on their premiums.

Pensions and health insurance costs had been termed budget-busters by the state-appointed Finance Control Board earlier established by the Legislature as part of a $52-million Springfield bailout loan. In June 2005 the Springfield Retirement Board voted to turn its $265 million pension fund over to the state’s PRIT Fund for investment. Jim Harrigan, the Board’s chairman, says the “PRIT Fund offered greater investment opportunities. Our backs were against the wall, we really didn’t have much choice. It’s still our fund, though.”

In addressing the health insurance issue, the city and employees/retirees accepted Sec. 19 of Chapter 32B (Coalition Bargaining). Section 19 provides that employees and retirees will negotiate as a coalition, rather than negotiate as individual unions. The coalition is known as the Public Employee Committee (PEC). We have appointed Bob Brown, longtime leader of Springfield retirees, as the retiree representative on the Public Employee Committee.

“The retirees were happy with the current Cigna insurance plan, which included free prescription drugs purchased by the city from Canada, but the free drug benefit was going to end this year,” said Brown. “All of the state’s insurance providers met with us in early October… there was some confusion among the retirees, it was a very hectic meeting. We’ll still be paying 25% of the premium costs with the city paying 75%, but how it plays out in dollars and cents depends on which GIC plan a retiree selects. I know in my plan, which includes Medicare, the premiums will be higher.”

Retiree Frances Shea, the former director of the Springfield Retirement Board, said she selected the GIC’s Health New England, which is $95.00 monthly, compared to her similar Cigna plan, which was $117.00. “It was difficult to make a choice, I don’t have Medicare,” Shea said. “We had until November third to sign up for a plan and I waited until the last day.”

The retiree meetings held on October 31 were an opportunity for Springfield Personnel Director Marilyn Montagna to give retirees one last opportunity to ask her questions. Although the meetings were scheduled for the morning and afternoon, with retirees whose last names began with letters A-L in the morning and retirees with letters M-Z in the afternoon, both sessions were on overload.

“It was somewhat chaotic. The line started early in the morning,” said Brown. “Not everyone could get in, and in the afternoon, they shut the doors when the church reached capacity. The church was very kind in helping us out, but the meetings should have been held in a larger facility.”

“Bob has a big load on his shoulders,” said Association President Ralph White. “We’ve kept the communication lines open and our Cheryl Stillman, who is the expert on GIC insurance plans, is ready to assist any Springfield retirees needing help. I know Cheryl will be very busy over the next few months.” Springfield retirees who feel they are not happy with their GIC plan choice, will be given the opportunity to switch to another GIC plan on April 1st, effective July 1st.