Massachusetts Senate restores health insurance provision for staffers, calling ongoing omission ‘unacceptable’ [masslive.com]

Future Beacon Hill staffers, plus thousands of other public employees across the commonwealth, may see their health insurance coverage take effect soon after the first day on the job — rather than needing to wait months to see a doctor and avoid steep out-of-pocket costs, based on a provision Massachusetts lawmakers unanimously approved Thursday.

The successful amendment from Sen. Becca Rausch, filed within a nearly $4.6 billion economic development and tax relief package, reinstates a workplace benefit that Senate staffers, who are actively organizing to establish a labor union, thought they had already secured — but ultimately lost — within the fiscal 2023 budget.

The health insurance status quo on Beacon Hill, which causes staffers but not elected leaders to forgo health insurance for up to 60 or 90 days is “simply unacceptable,” Rausch said on the Senate floor late Thursday.

“This amendment does not just impact the hundreds of legislative staff for whose work we are deeply grateful every day in this chamber and in our colleagues’ chamber across the hall,” Rausch said in her prepared remarks. “This policy affect tens of thousands of state employees who currently serve and will serve our commonwealth in the future. There’s simply no reason why we should deny our fellow public servants and their families immediate access to health insurance coverage.”

As the economic development bill now heads into conference committee, Rausch urged House and Senate members to preserve the health insurance provision and not scrap it again.

Rausch, as she persuaded colleagues to adopt new eligibility parameters through the Group Insurance Commission, recounted medical horror stories among legislative staffers who have contended with no coverage while suffering illnesses or accidents.

One staffer earning an annual salary of just $35,000 ended up paying $2,000 for an emergency room visit before his health insurance kicked in. Another staffer had to quit her antidepressants cold turkey after being unable to afford the prescription. And a different employee delayed treatment for a chronic condition by two months and hoped to avoid any flareups before gaining health insurance coverage, Rausch said.

“The Senate version of the economic development bill shaves this unnecessary and harmful waiting period down to under one month,” union organizers said in a statement to MassLive Friday. “This is a huge victory for not just the legislative staffers, but also over 90,000 Commonwealth employees: the teachers, social workers, public health professionals, higher education administrators, MBTA operators, government administrators, and so many more who work tirelessly to keep Massachusetts afloat.”

The initial inclusion of revamped insurance benefits in the budget forged a victory in Senate staffers’ ongoing push to unionize and seek voluntary recognition from Senate President Karen Spilka.

But as the reconciled budget emerged from conference committee, the Massachusetts State House Employee Union lamented the omission of the health insurance overhaul. They also noted the irony of the outcome, noting how “hundreds of legislative staff worked tirelessly to craft a FY 2023 budget to support working families across Massachusetts.”

“This will force State House workers to continue paying out of pocket for health coverage up to 90 days after beginning their state service, continuing the financial strain on the staff who keep our Legislature afloat,” union organizers said in a statement Monday. “Legislative workers deserve the protection of a union to guarantee them a seat at the table in their workplace.”

Spilka, whose chamber last month unveiled at least 10% pay adjustments for all staffers, has yet to take decisive action on the unionization front — to the dismay of staffers who want to start ameliorating a slew of workplace concerns, including pay inequities and anti-harassment policies, before the July 31 end-of-session deadline. The legal complexities underlying which public employees can unionize remains under Senate Counsel review, Spilka told reporters earlier this month.

But the Ashland Democrat herself praised the health insurance tweak embedded within the Senate’s budget proposal.

“In response to requests by many Senate staff, I am pleased to announce that there is a provision in this budget that would require GIC to allow state employers to offer health insurance at the start of employee,” Spilka had told reporters in May.

State Sen. John Keenan, speaking in support of Rausch’s amendment Thursday, said public employees expect to be treated with dignity and respect. But the Massachusetts Legislature cannot be an attractive workplace if employees must spend up to three months worrying about how they’ll cover unexpected medical needs for themselves or their children.

Keenan, echoing Rausch’s plea, said he hopes the pending committee will codify the insurance provision and walk “the full mile” with public employees.

“Who might want to come to this building or in any of our state buildings and work under difficult conditions, to work for less money that they could earn elsewhere?” Keenan said. “Who would want to do this work given the context of the environment — not so much here, but across the country — where people are losing faith? People want to go and work in a place where they can feel they make a difference.”

Related Content:

©2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.