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Springfield educator asks council to oppose GIC plan changes that would raise costs for municipal employees
Summary
An educator asked councilors to send letters to the Group Insurance Commission opposing proposed plan changes that would increase copays, raise deductibles and cut hearing‑aid and some drug coverage ahead of a Feb. 12 GIC vote.
Heather Wernemont, an educator with Springfield Public Schools, told the council the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC) is considering plan design changes that would shift costs onto active and retired municipal employees. She said proposals include a roughly 50% increase in some copays (primary, urgent-care and ER visits), a $250 increase in the individual deductible and $500 for families, elimination of hearing‑aid benefits for adults older than 22 and removal of coverage for certain drugs.
Wernemont urged the council to draft letters of opposition, individually or collectively, and to send them to GIC commissioners and the GIC chair, Valerie Sullivan, before the commission’s vote on Feb. 12. She provided an email contact (gic.info@mass.gov) that she said is used to collect public comments for the commissioners.
Councilors did not take formal action on the GIC request at the meeting but were asked to act quickly because the commission’s vote was imminent.
