Mass. Senate Unveils Municipal Health Care Plan

The Massachusetts Senate is unveiling a plan to overhaul the way cities and towns provide health coverage to municipal workers.

Under the proposal, cities and towns could either transfer workers into the state's Group Insurance Commission or create their own system of co-payments and deductibles that are no greater than the median co-payments and deductibles offered by the GIC.

Senate leaders say the plan doesn't mandate a "one size fits all" approach and would give workers 30 days to negotiate. The goal is to help slow soaring health costs for municipalities.

Any cost-saving proposal from a municipality must also include plans to ease the impact on retirees, low-wage workers, and heavy users of health insurance.

The House approved a similar measure to largely strip public employee unions of collective bargaining rights over health benefits.