MAY 2006 - Retirees Upset Over Mandate - In an apparent effort to reduce their retiree healthcare costs, more and more communities are turning to the Medicare program. Our members have been reporting to us that their municipal officials are proposing the adoption of a local option law which we call "mandatory Medicare."

MAY 2006 - Wellesley Approves First Payment Toward Schedule - In a move that foreshadows similar action throughout the Commonwealth in the not-to-distant future, Arlington has established a trust fund to pay future retiree healthcare costs. Arlington's action follows on the heels of similar action by Wellesley (see July '05 Voice).

MAY 2006 - Our worst fears, that a town would enroll their Medicare-eligible retirees into a Part D (prescription drug) plan, shifting substantial drug costs onto them, have been realized. Unfortunately, the town of Greenfield appears to have done just that.

MAY 2006 - Balance Billing Concerns Continue - When seeking medical care, members living beyond the borders of Massachusetts often face the threat of being held responsible for thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills.

MAY 2006 - Indemnity/OME Plans Not Impacted - Further complicating an already confusing healthcare system, the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC) is set to begin a controversial new program that creates a ranking system for physicians.

MARCH 2006 - Sets Up Insurance Trusts Under GASB - Little more than a year before new accounting rules, created by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), take effect, the Legislature has taken a significant step forward in securing future retiree healthcare benefits.

MARCH 2006 - Developments At The Local Level
1. Weymouth: Mayor Agrees Subsidy To Benefit Retirees
Weymouth Mayor David Madden has assured members of that community's municipal health insurance plan that money forthcoming each year from the Medicare Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) program will be used to reduce future healthcare costs.