This week, we have a short update regarding our focus over the next six weeks leading up to the holiday break in December. Over the next month and a half there are seven main areas of focus for Mass Retirees.
Before outlining the details, let me again remind members that we have opted to postpone the Tele-Town Hall Meeting that was scheduled to take place next Friday, November 14th. The virtual meeting will now take place on Thursday, December 18th at 1:00 PM. The focus of the Tele-Town Hall will be the Special COLA Commission and retiree health insurance news.
Speaking of retiree health insurance, this week Nancy McGovern and I attended the annual conference of the Public Sector Healthcare Roundtable, which took place in Washington, DC. Please look to next week’s Update for full details.
Now, let’s turn our attention to the seven items that will be our primary focus over the coming six weeks.
Watch Video Message Here.
Special COLA Commission
Last week’s email report & video centered on the pending report of the Special COLA Commission, on which Association President Frank Valeri represents all public retirees as an appointee of Governor Healey. The Commission met again just yesterday, where it once again analyzed and discussed actuarial models for the Enhanced COLA.
The Commission is expected to hold at least one more meeting prior to issuing a final report and recommendations for improving the COLA benefit in December. As we outlined in last week’s message, the recommended improvements must then be approved the legislature and passed into law prior to taking effect.
We anticipate that our Tele-Town Hall Meeting on December 18, will focus heavily on the Commission’s report and recommendations.
Group Insurance Commission (GIC)
The 17-member Commission will hold monthly meetings on 11/20 and 12/18 to begin the plan design and premium setting process for FY27. Plan design includes copayments and deductibles, which have been nearly unchanged for the past 7 fiscal years.
With continued healthcare inflation rapidly increasing costs, our Association is highly concerned about health insurance affordability – particularly as we head into FY27 with the headwinds of a slowing economy and reductions in federal aid. In FY26, the state spent roughly $2.4 billion to fund the GIC.
While the decisions made by the GIC have the most direct impact on the 455,000 enrollees covered by the state plan, plan design changes can also have a near immediate effect on municipal health insurance plans as well. Not only does the state plan lead by example, but the policy decisions made by the GIC can and often do quickly become local policy as well.
Local Health Insurance
There is growing activity across cities and towns exploring changes to municipal health insurance plans. Some communities are considering joining the state’s Group Insurance Commission, which has a statutory deadline for notification no later than December 1, for a July 1, 2026, start date.
Other communities are exploring changes to how they currently purchase insurance coverage for retirees and employees. For instance, financial volatility within some municipal Joint Purchasing Arrangements (JPAs) has led communities currently participating in the Hampshire County Healthcare Trust and the Mass Strategic Insurance Trust to consider leaving their respective JPA to purchase health insurance coverage elsewhere.
To be very clear, retirees, employees, and surviving spouses enrolled in plans provided through the JPAs in question are not in any danger of losing your health insurance coverage. State law requires a plan to be provided to you. However, our concern is the upheaval that any sudden change in coverage might bring about.
Cities, towns, districts, etc. have the choice to provide health insurance benefits on their own, collectively through a JPA, or by joining the state’s GIC.
Our Association’s Director of Healthcare and Retirement Advocacy Nancy McGovern works directly with local retirees, labor allies, and insurance carriers on all issues relating to local health insurance. Mass Retirees has the statutory responsibility to appoint a local retiree to serve on Public Employee Committees (PEC) in communities opting for changes that trigger the PEC process.
Legislature
Legislative committees must take initial action by Wednesday, December 3rd on currently pending legislative proposals. The formal legislative session runs through July 2026, with informal sessions continuing through Tuesday, January 5, 2027.
As we recently reported, most Mass Retirees legislative proposals are now before the Joint Committee on Public Service. We are now working with Committee members to advance our proposals beyond the first stage of the legislative process.
Please look for further details as the Committee acts in the coming weeks.
Outlook for FY27 State Budget
As we mentioned above, there is significant concern regarding the outlook for the Massachusetts economy and the tax revenue generated to support the state and local budgets in FY27 and beyond. And continued rising inflation is a source of growing unease.
Additionally, reductions in federal aid and the threat of further cuts from Washington, DC have placed both state and local budget writers on high alert.
Each November, state officials hold what is commonly known as the Revenue Consensus Hearing. The hearing is being conducted by the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, as well as Revenue Committees, along with the Executive Office of Administration and Finance. The goal is to take testimony from economists, business leaders, and other experts to arrive at a consensus number for estimated tax revenue for the coming fiscal year – in this case FY27.
The revenue consensus number agreed to by the various legislative and Administration officials becomes the basis that guides the budget process and estimated available tax revenue for the coming fiscal year. It is an extremely important first official step in the annual budget process.
Mass Retirees Members-Only Meetings
As I mention above, we have postponed our Tele-Town Hall meeting scheduled for 11/14 to a new date of Thursday, December 18th. This allows us to focus the meeting on the Special COLA Commission report, as well as developments with retiree health insurance.
In addition, we will hold our final Area Meeting of 2025 on Friday November 21st at 1:00 PM at the Auburn Elks Lodge 2118. Area meetings are open to all Mass Retirees members, and you are always welcome to bring a guest.
Please look to the January 2026 edition of The Voice for a full list of upcoming Area Meetings for the first quarter of 2026.
Publication of January 2026 Voice
Speaking of The Voice, we are now working to complete production of the next edition of our newsletter. Our plan is to go to press just after Thanksgiving, which would have the newsletter in members’ hands by mid-December.
As you may know, we produce all the newsletter content in house. It is then printed and mailed to members by Standard Modern, a union print shop located on the South Coast. Our graphic design partners are MA-based Chameleon DG. Two main focuses of the January edition will be the ongoing success of state’s PRIT Fund, as well as retiree health insurance.
Again, please look to next Friday’s Weekly Update for full details on the Public Sector Healthcare Roundtable Conference, as well as all breaking news relating to public retirees.
Watch today’s video report here!
With great appreciation,
Shawn
Shawn Duhamel
Chief Executive Officer
Mass Retirees Association