Mansfield Selectmen Praise Union Health Care Reform

Saying it took "a lot of courage" to press for health care reform for municipal employees, Mansfield Town Manager Bill Ross praised local legislators at last Wednesday's selectmen's meeting, thanking them for their support of the measure that passed after a 111-42 vote by the Massachusetts House on April 26.

The measure, still to be voted by the Senate, curbs the ability of unionized municipal workers like teachers, police, and firefighters, to negotiate health care packages with their communities, and promoters have said it will save Massachusetts cities and towns $100 million if it passes.

Ross said the board will send letters of support to both Representative Betty Poirier and Representative Jay Barrows. "It's a major accomplishment getting it moved this far," he said.

"It was a very heated environment," said board Chairman Kevin Moran. "This was a very strong statement that municipalities need some reform. If we can control these costs, we can keep more people employed."

Double-digit increases in the cost of employing municipal workers, current and retired, has drained town coffers of cash, a scenario that is playing out all over the state. Unions have been reticent in the past to agree easily to changes, although, Ross says ongoing negotiations are showing that union leaders and members increasingly recognize change is both necessary and inevitable in the current climate.

"Reforms are important," Ross said, "but it is important how we utilize them. We have the responsibility to preserve the financial integrity of this organization. Citizens and businesses pay bills that make it possible for all of us to work here. They deserve consideration."

Under the reform in section 46 of the Massachusetts law, cities and towns would be given the same power the state now has to update co-pays and deductibles in municipal health insurance plans. Although the state employs these mechanisms to hold down costs for its employees, communities must receive permission from their municipal unions before any alterations in plans can be made.

Under the new plan, cities and towns would be able to change co-pays and deductibles to the same level state employees have in the most subscribed plan offered by the GIC, the state's group plan.

Communities could also join the GIC, if they can demonstrate that joining it would be of greater savings than making changes to the plans they have.

Ten percent of the savings or cost avoidance would be set aside and used to offset the cost of supplying health care to those who use the benefits the most.

Some collective bargaining rights would be preserved under the provision for any change in the employee/employer premium share, and a 30-day period for discussion of changes would be included, but in the end, the city or town can still impose the changes in co-pays and deductibles as it sees fit, provided the levels achieved are no greater than the state itself offers.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association Web site provides a copy of the letter its executive director Geoffrey Beckwith sent to the House in support of the measure, and sets out a clear explanation of the proposed changes.

Selectman Olivier Kozlowski said at last week's meeting he has put in a call to Senator Jim Timilty's office, urging a positive Senate vote on the reform measure, and he urged interested Mansfield residents to follow suit.