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In January
2007, Senator Moore filed legislation to
help municipalities address skyrocketing health care costs by giving them the option to join the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC). Increasingly high health insurance costs have forced cities and towns to cut municipal services and increase property taxes.
Creating a new, local option to join the GIC has the potential to generate significant savings while offering employees and retirees high quality health insurance options. Employees may benefit from lowered premiums, access to a broad range of high quality health plans, and a negotiated sharing of savings through collective bargaining. Retirees would gain a voice in decisions affecting their health insurance plans, get long-term protection for their members, and enjoy an excellent set of health insurance options through the
GIC. Municipalities could save hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars annually and there will be additional flexibility in plan design through the
GIC. Finally, taxpayers would benefit because this reform creates an opportunity for more efficient government administration and allows scarce public resources to be used to improve public services.
In
February 2007, Gov. Deval Patrick made
Senator Moore's legislation a key component
of his Municipal Partnership Act. After
lengthy review and approval by the Joint
Committee on Public Service the Legislature
vote unanimously to pass the bill in July.
Gov. Patrick signed the bill into law on
July 25, 2007.
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