When it comes to controlling expenses, cities and towns need all the help they can get. That's why we have been strong supporters of the law allowing communities to join the state Group Insurance Commission. The GIC has a significantly better record of keeping health insurance increases down than plans managed by municipalities.
But the law requires unions go along with the switch, and unions aren't in the habit of negotiating away something for nothing. The concessions they have tried to extract from municipalities could negate the savings or even add to short-term costs, discouraging officials from taking advantage of the option.
As a result fewer than a dozen cities and towns have joined the GIC since the law went into effect in 2007, along with a handful of regional school districts and other agencies. Among MetroWest cities and towns, only Millis has taken advantage of this opportunity, despite officials' constant complaints about not having enough money.
Legislative leaders have said if the requirement that 70 percent of a community's unions must approve the move impedes the ability of local officials to join GIC, they would revisit the law. That time has come.
With the economy spinning deeper into recession, revenue shortfalls will force cuts in services at both the state and municipal levels. To protect services, officials must find savings wherever they can, and they must start with employee health care costs, which have strained budgets for years.
The potential savings is enormous. Last year the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation issued a report based on projected health care increases in GIC compared to the average local health plan. The study found if all cities and towns joined the GIC, they could save between $436 million and $764 million in fiscal 2013 and between $1.4 billion and $2.5 billion in fiscal 2018.
Holbrook officials report saving the town more than $200,000 a year by joining GIC, and town employees saw a 58 percent reduction in insurance rates. Millis reports that the payback from the switch has been "very gratifying and well worth the effort.
Desperate times call for drastic measures. Lawmakers need to revisit the Municipal Partnership Act to make it easier for officials to bring their communities into the GIC.
