Chapter 32B Section 22 Benchmark Plans
GIC non-Medicare Plan with largest subscriber enrollment - Harvard Pilgrim Explorer
GIC Medicare Plan with largest subscriber enrollment - Wellpoint Medicare Extension
The Entities That May Join, and the Specifics of Coverage Under Particular Sections of Chapter 32B
The local entities that can join GIC coverage
Any local entity that offers health insurance under Chapter 32B – meaning, most cities, towns, regional school districts, and surviving counties – may transfer eligible enrollees (employees, retirees, survivors, and their dependents) to the GIC. In this document, the term “Municipal Employer” applies to local entities that offer health insurance under Chapter 32B.
Certain other local entities that do not provide insurance under Chapter 32B, including regional councils of government, regional planning agencies, education collaboratives, and charter schools, can join the GIC through Chapter 32A, but the specifics of the process for joining the GIC and contribution ratios once enrolled are different. If you have questions about those processes, contact the GIC’s Municipal Coordinator.
The key differences between joining the GIC through Section 19 and Section 23
Both Section 19 and Section 23 provide a means by which Municipal Employers may offer health coverage through the GIC. There are, however, some key differences:
| Section 19 | Section 21/23 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision to transfer | Must be negotiated with Public Employee Committee (PEC) made up of representatives of local unions and retirees | May be negotiated with PEC or may be ordered by municipal health insurance review panel (for more details on the panel process, see below) | |
| Mitigation | None required | Panel must require 25% of year one savings go to mitigation fund to offset impact of transfer on those who would be disproportionately affected | |
| Timelines | Negotiation / panel timelines apply | ||
| Contribution ratios | Ratios may vary only by type of plan (e.g. non-Medicare HMO, PPO, POS, Indemnity, Medicare) | Contribution ratios fully subject to collective bargaining | |
| Duration | Three or six years | Three years | |
| Revocation | Must be negotiated with PEC | Municipal Employer may unilaterally withdraw (but PEC Agreement may require other procedures) | |
| Dispute Resolution | Certain disputes over PEC Agreements may be submitted to binding arbitration | Arbitration not addressed in statute |
Renewals and Withdrawals from Municipal Health Insurance with the GIC
Renewal
After entering the GIC, a municipal employer (city, town, or district administration) has the option to renew for no less than two years after the term of the initial agreement ends. Please send a new PEC Section 19 Agreement (if you joined under Section 19) or a confirmation of renewal (if you joined under Section 23) outlining the terms of your renewal (two or more years) to the attention of the GIC’s Executive Director. Please send by December 1 preceding your July 1 renewal date.
When a Municipal Employer can withdraw from the GIC
A Municipal Employer may withdraw from the GIC after an initial three year term or after the renewal term (a minimum of 2 yr interval as stated in the agreement to join the GIC) from the date on which it transferred subscribers to the GIC. For Municipal Employers who joined the GIC off-cycle (that is, other than on July 1 of any year) the initial partial year does not count toward the three years. In other words, a Municipal Employer that joined effective January 1, 2013 may withdraw effective July 1, 2016.
How Municipal Employer would withdraw from the GIC
A Municipal Employer (city, town, or district administration) must notify the GIC of its decision to withdraw by December 1 in order to withdraw the following July 1. Except as otherwise indicated in a Section 19 Agreement, withdrawal revokes acceptance of Section 19. After withdrawal, the Municipal Employer and public employee unions return to governance of negotiations of health insurance under chapter 32B and chapter 150E. Send a signed letter on municipal letterhead from the appropriate public authority of a political subdivision as defined in 32B, §2 - ''Appropriate public authority'', as to a county, except Worcester county, the county commissioners; as to a city, the mayor; as to a town, the selectmen; as to a district, the governing board of the district and for the purposes of this chapter if a collective bargaining agreement is in place, as to a commonwealth charter school as defined by section 89 of chapter 71, the board of trustees; and as to an education collaborative, as defined by section 4E of chapter 40, the board of directors,send to the GIC’s Executive Director's attention.
Who Municipal Employers Must Cover
Municipal Employers must transfer all of their subscribers to GIC health coverage, and may not enroll only certain groups
Section 19 and Section 23 both require that Municipal Employers enroll all of their GIC-eligible subscribers, including Retired Municipal Teachers and Elderly Governmental Retirees already covered by the GIC through the RMT and EGR programs, in GIC health coverage. For further information relevant to municipalities with RMTs or EGRs, please see Section IV, Retired Municipal Teacher (RMT) And Elderly Governmental Retiree (EGR) Programs, below.
Municipal Employers must cover their retirees, survivors and dependents if they decide to join GIC coverage
All GIC eligible active employees, retired employees, survivors and their dependents, including all Retired Municipal Teachers and Elderly Governmental Retirees, must be offered GIC health insurance coverage.
Eligibility as an “Employee” may change if a municipality joins the GIC
The GIC’s regulations require that all retirees and all employees other than elected officials enrolled via Section 19 must participate in a qualifying public pension system. Participating Municipal Employers must generally offer insurance to pension-eligible municipal employees who work more than 20 hours in a 40 hour work week, or 18.75 in a 37.5 hour work week. In no case is someone eligible if they work less than 18.75 hours. These requirements may impact eligibility for some participating municipalities.
Additionally, when a Municipal Employer transfers subscribers to the GIC, the GIC takes on the role of making final eligibility determinations. If the GIC concludes that a person is not eligible, that decision is final. This may result in the denial of eligibility for people who have been covered in the past.
Coverage Offered for Municipal Health Insurance
The types of plans the GIC currently offers employees and Non-Medicare retirees and survivors
There are four types of plans: HMO, PPO-type, POS and Indemnity. Eligibility is determined by the subscriber's state of residence. The current plan options are as follows:
- HMOs and HMO-type plans: Mass General Health Plan Complete, Harvard Pilgrim Quality, Health New England
- PPO Type: Harvard Pilgrim Access America, Wellpoint PLUS, Wellpoint Community Choice
- POS Plans: Harvard Pilgrim Explorer
- Indemnity: Wellpoint Total Choice
The types of plans the GIC offers Medicare-eligible retirees
- HMO/Medicare Advantage: Tufts Health Plan Medicare Preferred
- Indemnity/Medicare Supplement: Harvard Pilgrim Medicare Enhance, Health New England Medicare Supplement Plus, Wellpoint Medicare Extension
Please note that the GIC undergoes a new health plan procurement every five years, and some of the current plans could change or end at the time of new health plan contracts.
Municipal Employers’ subscribers are not eligible for other GIC benefits
Sections 19 and 23 address only health coverage. Other non-health benefits currently provided by Municipal Employers will continue to be their responsibility.
Since non-union charter schools and education collaborative subscribers may join GIC health coverage through chapter 32A, they are eligible for other GIC benefits
Certain local or regional entities – Commonwealth charter schools and non-union education collaboratives, regional planning agencies and regional councils of government may join the GIC by adopting chapter 32A. Entities that join GIC coverage through chapter 32A are eligible to receive other GIC state employee and retiree benefits.
Health Premium Contributions for Municipal Health Insurance
Municipal Employers determine the premium contribution ratios through collective bargaining with their unions where applicable
Health premium contribution ratios may differ by the type of subscriber (actives vs. retirees vs. survivors)
Under Section 19; the law requires that contribution ratios differ only by type of plan (i.e., HMO, PPO, POS, or Indemnity; Medicare or non-Medicare).
Under Section 23, different rules apply: contribution ratios are fixed by collective bargaining and may vary by type of subscriber. However, the percentage contributed by retirees, surviving spouses, and their dependents generally may not increase before July 1, 2014, unless the increase was approved before July 1, 2011.
Premiums do not vary by number of dependents
For all employee/non-Medicare plans, the GIC sets premium rates for individual (no dependents) and for family (one or more dependents) coverage. The GIC does not offer “plus one” employee/non-Medicare rates. For Medicare plans the GIC sets premiums per individual.
There may be a minimum or maximum premium contribution percentage that Municipal Employers must pay for GIC health coverage
Under Section 19: Municipal Employers must pay between 50% and 99% of their subscribers’ health premium. Municipal Employers’ premium contribution for The Indemnity Plan’s Medicare Extension plan cannot be less than the minimum percentage that it contributes to any other health plan offered by the GIC.
Under Section 21/23: Under Sections 21 and 23, contribution ratios are a matter for collective bargaining. However, the first time a Municipal Employer implements plan design changes under Section 22 or 23, the percentage contributed by retirees, survivors, and their dependents may not change before July 1, 2014, unless the secretary of administration and finance confirms that the increase was already approved prior to July 1, 2011.
Options for premium contribution ratios for GIC Medicare Plans under Section 19
Section 19 requires that health premium contributions be determined by the type of plan, NOT by type of enrollee. Acceptable contribution ratios are:
- one ratio for all Medicare plans;
- one for Medicare HMO Plans and one for Medicare Indemnity Plans; or
- one ratio for the Medicare HMO plans and one or two Indemnity Plan Medicare ratios.
Note that these parameters for contribution ratios do not apply if a Municipal Employer is transferring subscribers per Sections 21 and 23. Per Sections 21 and 23, contribution ratios remain a matter for collective bargaining, subject to the limitation addressed in the prior question for changes prior to July 1, 2014.
Medicare Enrollees in Municipalities
Thing to do in order to join GIC health coverage for Medicare-age retirees
If they are not already enrolled in Medicare, Medicare age retirees (65 years and older) must contact their local Social Security Office to determine if they are eligible to join Medicare. They may be eligible due to their own work history or through a spouse.
All retirees age 65 years and older who seek to join GIC health coverage must obtain a letter from the Social Security Administration stating whether they are or are not Medicare eligible, and they must give a copy of the letter to the Municipal Employer. If they are Medicare eligible but not enrolled, they must enroll in Medicare during the next federal government open enrollment period. They must enroll in Medicare before the following July 1 in order to have GIC coverage at that time. Medicare annual enrollment runs from January 1 to March 31 of each year.
We have not adopted the local option in Chapter 32B requiring all Medicare-eligible retirees to join Medicare. Your Medicare-eligible subscribers need to enroll in Medicare before joining the GIC
As of July 1, 2011, the question of whether to require Medicare-eligible retirees to join the GIC is no longer a matter of local option, but is generally mandated. An exception in c. 32B, § 18A for retirees with non-Medicare eligible family members does not apply to communities that have opted to transfer subscribers to the GIC. All retirees, spouses, and dependents insured or eligible to be insured under chapter 32B must enroll in Medicare Part B if they are eligible to enroll in Medicare Part A for free.
Other documents relevant to Medicare over-65 retirees and spouses need to provide
In the context of Section 19 and Section 23, immediately after providing notice of intention to join the GIC coverage, Municipal Employers must contact their retirees who are 65 years or older to inform them that:
- All retirees age 65 or older, except those already enrolled in Medicare, are required to contact the Social Security Administration to determine whether or not they are eligible for Medicare Part A for free;
- Retirees, spouses, and dependents must sign up for Medicare Part B if they are eligible for Part A for free in order to have GIC health coverage by the following July 1. Medicare-eligible enrollees and spouses must provide the GIC with:
- a photocopy of their Medicare card(s) for the enrollee, and for the spouse, if applicable)
- a photocopy of their latest 1099 or Benefit Verification letter from Social Security stating how the monthly Part B premium is paid (e.g. direct-billed or deducted), and the same for the spouse, if applicable;
- Retirees and spouses who are over age 65 and not eligible for Medicare must provide the GIC with a Social Security Denial letter stating that the enrollee or spouse is not eligible for Medicare Part A for free
The Federal Government’s open annual enrollment period for Medicare Part B begins January 1 and ends March 31 for health coverage effective July 1.
Who pays the Medicare Part B premium penalty, if any, for persons enrolling in Medicare Part B
By law, Municipal Employers must pay any Part B premium penalty assessed by the federal government on the retiree, spouse, or dependent as a result of enrollment in Medicare Part B at the time of transfer.
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