Help Defend Your Right to Quality & Affordable Health Care
As a public retiree, your right to high-quality and affordable health care is at great risk. Whether you are insured through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) or enrolled in a municipal health insurance plan, all retired Massachusetts public employees have the same shared concerns when it comes to retiree health care.
At a time when health insurance has become dramatically more expensive and complicated, making sure that retirees have a seat at the table and that your voices are heard is more important than ever before.
Mass Retirees represents the concerns of all retired Massachusetts public employees, not only before the state GIC – but also at the local level of government. In fact, Mass Retirees is the only retiree organization in the Commonwealth that has the legal authority to appoint a local retiree to municipal Public Employee Committees (PEC).
Concerns Over Budget Cuts
After a long period of calm in the healthcare marketplace, where prices remained stable for nearly a decade, we have entered a time of significant price increases at both the state and local level. Price increases, which have run into the double digits for many plans once again in 2025, are not only shouldered by retirees, but also the state and cities and towns. In many cases, it is the government entity from which you retired that is paying bulk of health insurance costs.
The danger we face stems from the fact that health insurance costs are rising while state and municipal budgets are tightening. Look no further than the record number of local property tax override votes on the ballot this spring for evidence of local budget concerns. Add in fear of billions in cuts to federal grants & state aid, and the potential need to reduce state and local spending grows exponentially worse.
Sadly, would-be budget cutters often look to retiree health insurance as an area of savings. We witnessed this first-hand during and after of the Great Recession from 2008-2012. During this period retirees were forced to pay more for a less quality product.
With a growing storm on the horizon, our focus is to take the needed steps to protect public retirees.
Retiree Strength in Numbers
For nearly 60 years, Mass Retirees has advocated to improve and defend the benefits of all retired Massachusetts public employees. We continue to be successful due to a robust, well informed, and engaged membership.
When it comes to retiree health insurance, strength in numbers truly makes a difference. This is especially true when policy makers eye cuts to retiree health insurance or cost shifting onto the backs of retirees as sources of budgetary savings.
At the state level, the GIC is entering the 7th consecutive year without increasing copayments or deductibles. Holding the line on out-of-pocket costs is the direct result of our work and the impacted of the combined voices of our members.
The strong impact of our well-informed and engaged membership is equally felt at the local level, where municipal governments often can
change retiree contribution rates and alter health insurance plan design for the worse. Our Association can only protect public retirees if we maintain a strong membership.
We know that difficult times are coming, but the outcome will depend on how retirees collectively respond to that challenge. By sticking together as a united front, we have no doubt that retiree will win.
Please consider becoming a member of Mass Retirees. Join today and help protect the retirement benefits that you earned, pay for, and depend upon.