Shifting the Costs

The Salem News reported recently that Salem city counselors will voluntarily contribute to the cost of the their health insurance premiums. Squeezed by rising costs and desperate to reign in spending, the city is looking for ways to reduce the cost of health care. This is a story being repeated in the cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
The city counsel’s action reflects what has often been the solution: pass along the costs to families and workers. Make employees contribute a larger percentage. The problem is, many employees do not have the money—the worker share of health care premiums is growing three and a half times faster than their wages.
In Franklin, the town counsel is considering plans to change retired teachers’ health insurance (link). The plan would move the teachers plan from the State plan back to the town plan, and the teachers’ premiums would rise from 10% to 32% of the plan’s cost. The teachers as one could imagine were not very enthusiastic about the idea.
As long as the health care system does not cover everyone, costs will continue to rise. That is why the constitutional amendment is critical—it ensures that everyone has coverage, and that the care is equitably financed and affordable. It ensures that costs do not get shifted around willy-nilly (to the teachers, the city workers, whoever), but instead requires that everyone pay their fair share.