Insurance board may reverse plan changes
So she was outraged to learn that, without notice, her family's longtime insurer was one of three health plans being dropped this year by the state's
"My son and daughter are going to lose their health care providers because they're dropping our insurance," said Sodre, 44, of
Sodre, who has worked for the state
The 17-member commission decides which health insurance packages to give state employees and municipal employees within participating cities and towns. The entire system insures about 442,000 public workers, retirees and their families.
With no public hearings and little, if any, input from state officials, the commission voted
The board decided to contract with three health insurance carriers -- UniCare,
Legislative leaders, public employees' unions and even Gov.
Attorney General
RECONSIDERING DECISION
That political pressure, not to mention upcoming
In a statement, the commission's chief of staff said the changes, set to go into effect in July, were intended to "provide members with continuous coverage in a comparable plan while retaining their networks and doctors, and simultaneously controlling out-of-pocket and premium costs."
But,
Officials have said the restructuring will save the state more than
Besides mounting pressure from state leaders, Tufts and Harvard Pilgrim -- which will lose about 90,000 enrollees as a result of the change -- warned that the decision would lead to job cuts in their offices. Baker is a former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim.
Unions that represent state and municipal workers and retirees were fuming over the decision.
"Anytime there is change to health care people are rightly concerned," he said. "The way this was handled ... they needlessly frightened folks."
WIDESPREAD OUTRAGE
Lawmakers, who've been bombarded with calls from government employees over the decision, have been gearing up to block the changes.
Sen.
She said the way the commission handled it -- taking a vote and then scheduling public hearings -- was a textbook example of "poor planning."
"There was no opportunity or time for input by those who would be most affected," she said. "People were really blindsided by this decision."
Rep.
"This was kind of dropped on us with little warning," he said. "It made a lot of people upset, and I don't blame them."
He said in a statement the decision "would have forced working people and their families to find new doctors and other medical providers, go to the back of waiting lists for their children's treatment, and spend valuable time trying to preserve the quality of their healthcare."
Both DeLeo and
"I'm pleased that the (commission) is going to be more thoughtful about proposed changes that would impact several hundred thousand residents," DeLeo said.
Sodre said she hopes the commission will reverse its decision.
Her son Sam, who just turned 8, needs speech and feeding therapy every week. Her daughter Maren, who is 6, also needs speech and occupational therapy.
Both go to a clinic in
"Losing our provider would be devastating for my family," she said, noting that she's even willing to pay more for coverage, if it will allow her family to keep the current plan.
"I don't understand why they won't just let us pay a little more to keep our plans?" she said. "They should be giving us more options."
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