The Municipal Health Insurance Summit, hosted and sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, is a collaboration between the Blues, Mass Retirees, the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts (PFFM), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) MA. It was created to specifically focus on the unique issues related to municipal health insurance and to help educate the retirees and active employees involved in local health insurance negotiations.
This year’s Summit, held at BCBS’s Hingham office, was attended by more than 80 local retirees and active public employees serving on local Insurance Advisory Committees (IAC) and Public Employee Committees (PEC). By state law, Mass Retirees appoints a local retiree to serve on the PEC, which then bargains health insurance benefits in communities that choose to implement a PEC option.
Our Association’s Director of Healthcare and Retirement Advocacy Nancy McGovern and CEO Shawn Duhamel both took part in presentations made at the Summit, which focused heavily on affordability and cost containment.
Officers Attend Roundtable Conference
In November, Duhamel and McGovern attended the 21st Annual Conference of the Public Sector Healthcare Roundtable in Washington, DC. The Roundtable is comprised of public sector health insurance plans from Maine to Alaska, include the Group Insurance Commission. Tom Lussier, our longtime federal policy consultant, serves as Roundtable Administrator.
GIC Executive Director Matt Veno was not only in attendance but participated in a very timely and informative panel discussion on GLP-1 prescription drugs for weight loss. The discussion, which also included Texas Teachers Chief Health Care Officer Katrina Daniel and a senior vice president from Eli Lilly, simultaneously took place less than a mile from the White House where President Trump announced plans to not only help lower the cost of GLP-1s, but to launch a pilot program for the popular medication for Medicare enrollees.
Except under very specific and rare circumstances, Medicare does not currently cover GLP-1 medications for weight loss. While details are not yet known, Medicare is expected to launch the pilot program later in 2026.
“We always learn a great deal by attending the Roundtable Conference. The two-and-a-half-day agenda is very intense, with a lot of valuable information and insight as to what is happening around the country in the public sector healthcare space,” said McGovern. “One takeaway is that the challenges we are facing here in Massachusetts are not at all unique. There is no doubt that an affordability crisis exists. What is somewhat unique is the role that our Association and our labor partners have in working toward a solution. “With the exception of our allies the Texas Retired Teachers’ Association, Mass Retirees was the only local retiree/employee organization represented at the Roundtable Conference. We are not about to sit on the sidelines while these issues impact our members. Taking an active role and gaining knowledge are key steps toward a solution to the affordability crisis.”