Decision to join state insurance pool won't be easy
By Catie Foertsch Community Reporter

Westborough - At first look, the numbers seem to make a compelling case for Westborough to buy its employee health insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the state's health insurance pool. But, Assistant Town Coordinator Maryanne Bilodeau said, the situation is a lot less clear than the numbers suggest.

"You have to make sure you have all the facts and understand the impact on people before you make this decision," Bilodeau said.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives recently passed a bill allowing municipalities to join the GIC to offset their rising health insurance premiums, and that bill is now being considered by the Senate.

According to figures from Bilodeau and the Department of Revenue, the increase in health insurance costs for Westborough for the five-year period from fiscal year (FY) 2002 through FY 2007 was 77.8 percent, while the GIC increase for the same period was 42.8 percent.

But Bilodeau said a direct comparison of the fiveyear averages is skewed by several factors, such as the impact of adding new employees over that five years, the number of town employees who choose higher-cost plans, and the lower amount paid toward one insurance plan by the teacher's union, the town's largest union. The percentage of seniors, whose health care plans have seen smaller increases, is also a factor.

A look at the increase in the amount the town pays for health insurance premiums during that same five year period would factor out the addition of new employees. According to Bilodeau, that five-year increase is 57 percent.

Bilodeau is working on an in-depth analysis of whether it makes fiscal sense for the town to join GIC. One concern is whether the plans offered by the state have higher deductibles and co-pays that would pass on more costs to employees.

If the town wished to save money by passing on more costs to employees, it could purchase similar plans and maintain local control, Bilodeau said.

If the selectmen agree to purchase health care through the state pool, any decision to join the GIC would have to be approved by the town's unions, because health insurance is a contractual benefit.

Westborough has 509 employees and 313 retirees who obtain their health insurance through the town. The total cost in FY 2007 was $6.5 million. Employees pay 25 percent of their health insurance premium, except for teachers, who pay 25 percent for all plans except Fallon, for which they pay 10 percent.