The following message was sent to members and retirees on November 22, 2016 regarding Mayor Fiorentini’s decision to have the City of Haverhill enter the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) to purchase the health insurance it provides for municipal workers and retirees. Second Vice President Anthony Parolisi represented the HEA on the Public Employee Committee and served as its chair.
Members,
Mayor Fiorentini has decided to move Haverhill into the state’s Group Insurance Commission (known as the GIC). This means that as of July 1, 2017, city employees and retirees will no longer be able to purchase health insurance from Blue Cross/Blue Shield through the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Agency. When open enrollment begins in the spring, every current and retired Haverhill employee who purchases insurance through the city will have to enroll in a new health insurance plan from a company that participates in the GIC. While accurate information about plan options and costs for next year have not yet been determined, members who wish to begin researching the healthcare options under the GIC can find information at
http://www.mass.gov/anf/
Last year’s “Benefit Decision Guide”, which can give you some idea of what options will be available, can also be found here:
http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/
In the meantime, members should pay attention for information from City Hall about informational sessions with human resources and city- and GIC-led benefits fairs to help members understand their choices and make the decisions that are best for themselves and their families. These should begin once the GIC finalizes its plans and sets its rates in February or March ahead of open enrollment which will take place from April 5th to May 3rd, 2017.
As the law requires, a Public Employee Committee made up of representatives from all municipal employee unions was formed at the end of September. Employees across the city voiced their concerns through their representatives with regard to the coming changes. The PEC worked hard to ensure that every option to avoid this change was explored, including inviting representatives from Blue Cross/Blue Shield and MIIA to help us determine how much it would cost to keep our current insurance options. Unfortunately, the projected premium increases which would be required to retain our current health insurance provider proved to be too costly to convince the mayor to abandon his decision to move to the GIC.
Since the decision to move to the GIC is the mayor’s alone to make, the function of the PEC was to research the impact the change will have on our members and negotiate a mitigation plan to help deal with the increased out-of-pocket expenses that will result. The result of these negotiations is a PEC Agreement which includes the mitigation plan. Beginning July 1, 2017, members should take care to track all of their out-of-pocket medical expenses, including co-pays, prescription costs, and deductibles so that they may apply for qualifying reimbursements from the Health Reimbursement Account that has been established.
In solidarity,
Anthony
Anthony J. Parolisi
2nd Vice President
Haverhill Education Association
The PEC regrets that the rapidly rising premium costs have led to this move into the GIC and away from the current provider so many city workers have come to rely upon to manage their care. That said, the HEA is satisfied that the ratified mitigation plan will help members find some relief from the increased copays and deductibles associated with the new plans through the negotiated health reimbursement account. The Mayor has assured us that the city will make every effort to help members get the information they need to navigate the transition into the GIC and access the reimbursement funds available to them and we look forward to working with him in this effort.
The PEC Agreement, which includes the details of the mitigation plan, can be found in the contracts section of the HEA website, haverhill.massteacher.org
For additional local coverage, including information from the mayor’s press release, visit WHAV and the Eagle Tribune.