After a Cabinet meeting that lasted over two hours Friday, Patrick told reporters he remained engaged in negotiations over the Legislature’s plan to haul muni-health insurance cost-sharing and bargaining.
Deval L. PatrickBy MATT MURPHY
and MICHAEL NORTON
BOSTON - Municipal health care reform remained the most-discussed and mysterious aspect of the still-unsigned 2012 fiscal year Friday as aides to Gov. Deval L. Patrick confirmed the plan has drawn interest from national labor leaders, and lawmakers scheduled sessions for Monday when the Legislature is expected to revisit the controversial issue.
After a Cabinet meeting that lasted over two hours Friday, Patrick left the Statehouse walking his black Labrador retriever Toby and telling reporters he remained engaged in negotiations over the Legislature’s plan, included in the budget on his desk, to overhaul muni-health insurance cost-sharing and bargaining.
Patrick administration officials confirmed Friday afternoon that national labor union officials have taken an interest in the muni-health reform proposal, which Democrats in the House and Senate last week claimed struck the proper balance between worker rights and needed cost savings.
Asked what he was trying to accomplish on municipal health care reform, Patrick said, “What I have always said, which is a bill that delivers real and meaningful savings for cities and towns in the short run, and also has a meaningful role for labor. I think we are very, very close,” Patrick said.
Patrick officials said the administration has been engaged in conversation with unions, municipal leaders and House and Senate staff as they work to forge a compromise, which itself would indicate that Patrick wants to make changes to the deal reached last week between the House and Senate.
After discussing the issue during a meeting with House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo Wednesday, Patrick said the plan was “a really good bill” but said he had not decided whether to sign off on it.
“It achieves the savings. It does have a role for labor,” Patrick said. “I think trying to sort out whether that role is meaningful enough from labor's point of view without jeopardizing any of the ease or speed of achieving the savings is a question I'm trying to turn over."
Under the Legislature's plan, cities and towns would have the option to make health plan copayment and deductible changes unilaterally after an expedited 30-day bargaining window as long as 25 percent of the achieved savings are redirected back to employees.
Plan supporters say the cost shifting will bring plans more in line with industry norms and help communities preserve local jobs and services by reaping a collective $100 million in savings in fiscal 2012, which began July 1.
Critics of the plan say it will shift costs to middle class workers and leave public retirees at risk while eroding a collective bargaining process that labor unions say is the cornerstone of ensuring adequate worker rights and benefits. Three Democratic senators have ripped the plan as an attack on bargaining.
DeLeo, approached as he left the State House early Friday afternoon and asked about the progress of negotiations over municipal health insurance reforms, said, "We're talking.” Asked if he had met with labor officials about the issue, DeLeo waved to a reporter and wished him a nice weekend. A union coalition official also declined to say whether labor leaders had met with DeLeo.
Patrick has until Monday to sign the budget and deliver vetoes or amendments. Asked if he would file another separate piece of legislation to address municipal health reform, Patrick said, “There are a couple different ways to skin this cat and that’s what we’ve been working on.”
Fifteen labor groups indicated last Friday they were disappointed with the Legislature's plan and planned to seek changes "to protect retirees and people who are very sick" and to protect labor's voice in the process.
The Public Employees' Coalition on Municipal Health Insurance, which includes unions representing teachers, firefighters, police and other municipal workers, indicated it planned to lobby for a bill that achieves savings for municipalities "while still being fair to public employees and retirees."
The same coalition released another statement Friday: "The Public Employees Coalition on Municipal Health Insurance has been engaged in positive conversations with the Patrick Administration and legislative leadership which we hope will lead to legislation that in the final analysis addresses our primary concern of providing a meaningful voice for employees to protect the very sick and retirees from exorbitant increases in the costs of health insurance."
A coalition of major business and civic groups on Wednesday urged Patrick to sign the reform without amendments and "meet his commitment to provide cities and towns with the tools they need to save jobs, control costs, and deliver vital public services, while preserving labor's significant role in the process."
As for a timeline of when he might make a decision, the governor indicated Friday it could go down to the wire. “I’ve got til Monday, I think, right?” he said.
The Senate on Friday scheduled a formal session for Monday.
“We’ll see what the governor does with his 10 days,” Sen. Steven Tolman said after presiding over Friday’s informal Senate session, indicating that Monday’s session was scheduled in anticipation of the governor making some decisions around the budget that would necessitate legislative action.
The House agreed Thursday to meet in an informal session Monday but a DeLeo aide emailed House members and staff on Friday afternoon to signal a change in plans. DeLeo now intends to convene a “second legislative day” Monday to take up muni-health insurance proposals tied to the fiscal 2012 budget. The email did not specify the nature of the changes members should be prepared to consider.