The Legislature passed the new municipal health insurance law on July 11, and the Governor signed it on July 12.

SEIU Local 888 is a member of the Public Employees’ Coalition on Municipal Health Insurance, a group that played an active role in shaping the final bill in order to protect core bargaining rights and benefits.  SEIU Local 888 members alone sent nearly 1,000 emails and faxes to Massachusetts lawmakers to ensure that the legislation addressed our fundamental concerns on preserving a meaningful voice for public workers in the process and protecting retirees and the most vulnerable employees from excessive and sudden cost increases.

A statement released by the coalition after the House of Representatives and Senate passed the new law appears below:

July 11, 2011

Thanks to the historic shared sacrifice pledged by a coalition of public employee unions and retirees, Massachusetts cities and towns will save an estimated $100 million in health insurance costs under a plan approved by the Legislature today and signed by Governor Deval Patrick.

These savings will be used to save jobs and protect public education, public safety and other vital local services across the Commonwealth.

The agreement comes after the Public Employees’ Coalition on Municipal Health Insurance first announced in March that teachers, firefighters, police officers and other city and town employees, along with public-sector retirees, would be willing to negotiate higher co-payments and deductibles in light of the fiscal crisis, provided that three core principles were addressed:

Employees and retirees must have a meaningful voice in the process. The sickest employees and retirees must be protected from excessive out-of-pocket expenses. Retirees and survivors must be protected from sudden increases in health care costs. The coalition believes the final legislation respects those principles.

Coalition members recognize that public- and private-sector employees, retirees and the recipients of public services have all been hurt by the recession, the fiscal crisis and the skyrocketing cost of health care, and we are willing to do our share to preserve jobs and programs in our communities.

The coalition believes that now that we have eliminated this distraction from the public debate, we must all focus on the real crisis, which is the ever-spiraling cost of health care for all residents of Massachusetts, and the coalition stands ready to work with the Legislature and governor as we move forward to address this critical issue.

Members of the Public Employees’ Coalition on Municipal Health Insurance include:

AFSCME – Council 93 AFT Massachusetts International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 35 Massachusetts AFL-CIO Massachusetts Coalition of Police Massachusetts and Northern New England Laborers Council Massachusetts Municipal Police Coalition Massachusetts Police Association Massachusetts Teachers Association Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association SEIU – Local 888 SEIU/NAGE United Steel Workers, AFL-CIO/CLC