Articles about Health Insurance that may be useful to Massachusetts retirees
Local Insurance Mitigation Funds Essential
NOVEMBER 2011 VOICE: A major point of negotiation during the Municipal Health Insurance Reform debate was the issue of mitigation funds being set aside to help offset the increased costs to be borne by retirees, survivors and employees under the new Municipal Health Insurance Law (Chapter 69, Acts of 2011).
Includes Part B Refund
Arlington has become the first municipality to join the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC) under the new municipal health insurance law (Section 23). Town officials have contacted the GIC before October 1, so that the transfer will be done on January 1, 2012.
Medscape Medical News
October 28, 2011 — More prudent use of medical services and tougher competition among healthcare providers has slowed the growth of Medicare spending, allowing for Part B premiums to be lower than projected, federal health officials said yesterday.
Monthly Premium of $99.90 Begins in January
OCTOBER 28, 2011: The federal government has announced that the standard Medicare Part B premium for 2012 will be $99.90 per month. Under the Medicare program, eligible retirees are responsible for 25% of the total cost of Part B, with the federal government subsidizing the remaining 75%.
Retirees Must Chose Plan By October 26
OCTOBER 21, 2011: Open enrollment is now underway for retirees, survivors and active employees from the towns of Arlington, Medford, Somerville and Wakefield, communities that will join the state’s Group Insurance Commission on January 1, 2012.
Members from these communities only have until Wednesday, October 26, 2011 to chose which GIC insurance plan to enroll. Those, who miss the enrollment deadline, will no longer have health insurance coverage after the January 1 transfer date.
SEPTEMBER 2011 VOICE: The seven-year odyssey, that has been a string of municipal health insurance reform initiatives, has closed its latest chapter with the passage of a new law that could dramatically reshape how local insurance plans are negotiated and established.
SEPTEMBER 2011 VOICE: No sooner had Chapter 69 become law, than Arlington’s board of selectmen voted 4-0 to move forward and join the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC). Right behind them, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curatone also began the move to the GIC.
Other communities, from cities, such as Fall River and New Bedford, to the smallest Berkshire towns are now weighing how to proceed. Essentially, Chapter 32B (municipal health insurance) now provides multiple options as to how to negotiate and design local insurance benefits.
JULY 2011 VOICE: With pension reform in the spotlight for three years and still underway, municipal health insurance reform has temporarily pushed pensions to the back-burner as the House and Senate have tackled head-on the long-simmering municipal health insurance quandary.
Retirees Must Have Voice In Process
The battle, now being waged in Wisconsin over the rights of public employees to collectively bargain, should come as no surprise to Association members. As we have been reporting for some time, there is a growing national movement to reduce and alter the health care and defined benefit pensions of public employees and retirees.
EDITORIAL Gov. Deval Patrick has set the ambitious goal of reducing by $1 billion the projected health care expenditures in the next fiscal year. While there is reason to doubt whether he’ll be able to meet that target, he has followed up with concrete proposals.
GateHouse News Service Posted Feb 23, 2011 @ 10:00 AM
Since 1968 the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association has been the leading voice for Massachusetts public retirees and their families. Join with our 62,000 members as we continue the fight.
