Town's Health Insurance Change Already Producing Savings

Lynnfield and its employees have already seen financial savings from switching over to the state's GIC health insurance plan earlier this year, reported Town Administrator Bill Gustus at this week's selectmen's meeting.

Gustus reported to selectmen that since the switch, the town's enrollment has increased by about four individuals and that workers can now choose from 11 different plans - some of which place more of an emphasis on encouraging healthy behaviors.

The town needed to save about $750,000 earlier this spring when the health care change was approved, in order to avoid layoffs that would have been required to otherwise close its budget deficit.

The deal also called for the town and its workers to share in the financial savings that this new plan brought about. As a result, Gustus reported that the workers will be getting $67,334 returned to them while the town will receive that same amount as an appropriation line surplus.

Gustus also reported that if the town had stayed with the previous plan through the current year, the total cost among the town, workers and retirees in the system would have been just over $7 million. In contrast, the GIC plan reportedly works out to a total of about $5.45 million on an annualized basis.

"It worked out the way we hoped it was going to work out," said Gustus.

The town can also expect additional savings from the health care move in the next fiscal year, added the town administrator, adding that "the overwhelming majority" of town workers will also be paying less for their premiums.

"We've stabilized our health insurance premiums over the next two years," said Gustus.

Selectman Al Merritt noted that Lynnfield is already realizing savings from the plan while most other towns have yet to begin doing so. For that, he praised Gustus for getting to work on the matter with town unions and other officials as early as he did. "He stayed with it month after month after month," said Merritt.