Massachusetts Municipalities Should Be Able To Join State Health Insurance Program Without Unions’ Permission, According To Report

August 25, 2007 – 8:24 pm | posted in Health Insurance, Medicare

Massachusetts municipalities should be allowed to bypass negotiations with labor unions to join the state’s health insurance program, according to a joint report released on Monday by the Boston Municipal Research Bureau and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the Boston Globe reports. Gov. Deval Patrick (D) last month signed a law that grants municipalities permission to join the state’s Group Insurance Commission, which would allow them to use the program’s negotiating power for better rates and flexibility.

According to the report, municipalities could save $100 million in health costs in fiscal year 2009 by joining the state program. Health care costs for municipal employees increased by 63% between FY 2001 and FY 2005, while municipal budgets increased by 15%, according to the report. The law requires the municipalities to receive permission from labor unions, but the report contends that receiving permission from the unions would prevent municipalities from meeting the Oct. 1 deadline to notify the state of participation.

Several union officials on Monday said they should not be eliminated from the decision process on whether to join the state program.

Michael Widmer, president of the foundation, defended the recommendation, saying, “I understand the political difficulty of that suggestion, but there are no easy answers to the local health care dilemma of escalating costs, and while this is a good first step, we’re concerned that it doesn’t go far enough and that not very many communities will take advantage of it” (Simpson, Boston Globe, 8/21).

The report is available online (.pdf).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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