The Hampshire Council of Governments health insurance program has more than 65 municipal member units and about 8,000 insured people.
The Hampshire Council of Governments building in Northampton.WARE – The head of the Hampshire County regional health insurance trust urged selectmen from the region to fight against state efforts to force cities and towns to give up their current employee coverage in favor of the state’s Group Insurance Commission.
John J. Lillis, administrator of the Hampshire Council of Governments Group Insurance Trust, said benefits, programs like wellness and choice of physicians are stronger for members of the Hampshire program than they would be under the statewide Group Insurance Commission.
“The threat is that towns will be forced to join the state GIC,” Lillis said. “If it is on price only we would have to make a choice: do we gut our own plan?”
Lillis was speaking at a meeting of the Hampshire County Selectmen’s Association.
He had been invited to the meeting to comment on legislation proposed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick which is aimed at requiring cities and towns to switch from their current employee health insurance plans to the state Group Insurance Commission unless they can show that their current plan costs less than participation in the statewide plan would.
Lillis said that when one looks at the combination of premiums and benefits, the state plan is expensive.
The Hampshire Council of Governments plan has more than 65 participating municipalities and school systems as members with about 4,500 employees enrolled and 8,000 insured members, including the employees and their families.
Patrick and some Democratic leaders in the Legislature have been saying this year that cities and towns could save millions of dollars by switching to the state Group Insurance Commission and that this would be particularly important in the coming months because state funding cuts are likely to reduce municipal revenue and budgets.
Belchertown Selectman and Town Clerk William R. Barnett, the chairman of the Hampshire Council of Governments executive board, said the regional health insurance trust which has provided coverage for municipal employees in members communities for 56 years is under bombardment from the state and could be forced out of existence.
Barnett and Lillis urged selectmen and other officials in towns belonging to the regional health insurance trust to write to legislators throughout the state expressing support for keeping the regional system going.
State Rep. Paul W. Mark, D-Hancock, who represents Hampshire County towns of Cummington, Plainfield and Middlefield, said the selectmen should write letters not just to their hometown legislators but to those throughout the state if they want to show support for the regional health insurance trust.