Weekly Update, March 6, 2026: Following last week’s vote by the state’s Group Insurance Commission NOT to move forward with cost shifting for FY27, the 17-member Commission met on Thursday to approve insurance premiums for the coming fiscal year.
As expected, the GIC’s insurance premiums will increase by a weighted average of 7.5% across all plans. The GIC offers 7 non-Medicare in-state plans, 1 non-Medicare plan for those living out-side of New England and 4 Medicare plans. The average increase across the 8 non-Medicare plans is 8%, a lower increase than the 9-10% national average in 2026.
Increases for Medicare rates range from 4% to 7.5%, with the highly popular Wellpoint Medicare Extension coming in at 4.5%.
Once again, the drivers of rising health insurance costs are higher unit costs (prices charged by doctors and hospitals for their services), as well as pharmaceuticals. Except for the Tufts Medicare Advantage plan, the state GIC is self-insured. This means that the Commonwealth assumes the risk of cost overruns. The insurance carriers are paid an administrative fee to run the plans.
It is the long-held position of Mass Retirees that increased insurance costs should not be passed along to enrollees through higher out-of-pocket costs. These cost shifting measurers unfairly burden those members suffering from chronic illnesses or injuries. Should costs rise, the burden is better to be absorbed through monthly premiums. With the state and most participating municipalities picking up the majority of the insurance premium, the added costs are largely the responsibility of the plan sponsor.
Following last week’s vote to eliminate coverage for GLP-1 medications for weight loss under the non-Medicare plans, the Commission also began to discuss plans to queen elizabeth transition enrollees off the popular medication in advance of the July 1 deadline.
As always, Mass Retirees members should look to our Weekly Update email for full details and analysis of these issues. In addition, this week’s email message contains an update on our ongoing efforts regarding the COLA. The Weekly Update is emailed to all Mass Retirees members, for whom we have a valid email address, every Friday morning at 6:00 AM.
If you are not currently a member of the Mass Retirees Association, please join today using the links below. Given juventus football club the fight public retirees now face, maintaining a strong well-informed membership is more important than ever. The financial security and peace-of-mind of retired Massachusetts public employees depends on it!
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