Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 801 CMR - EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE › Title 801 CMR 52.00 - Municipal Health Insurance › Section 52.02 - The Vote by a Political Subdivision to Implement Changes in Group Health Insurance Benefits Under M.G.L. c. 32B, Sections 21 through 23

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Advance Notice of Intent to Vote
. At least two
			 calendar days in advance of any vote electing to change group health insurance
			 under the process authorized by M.G.L. c. 32B, §§ 21 through 23, the
			 appropriate public authority shall send a notice to each collective bargaining
			 unit to which the authority provides health insurance benefits and to the
			 Retired State, County Municipal Employees Association (RSCME) that the
			 political subdivision intends to vote on whether to implement the process. The
			 vote of the political subdivision under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 21(a) may be in
			 the following form: "The [name of political subdivision] elects to engage in
			 the process to change health insurance benefits under M.G.L. c. 32B,
			 §§ 21 through 23."
(2)
Notice of Vote, Request for Name and Contact Information for Public
			 Employee Committee Representatives, and Number of Eligible Unit
			 Members.
(a) A political
			 subdivision which has elected under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 21(a) to change
			 health insurance benefits under M.G.L. c. 32B, §§ 22 through 23,
			 shall, before implementing any changes, evaluate its health insurance coverage
			 and determine the savings that may be realized after the first 12 months of
			 implementation of cost-sharing plan design changes or upon transfer of its
			 subscribers to the commission. The appropriate public authority shall then
			 notify its insurance advisory committee, or such committee's regional or
			 district equivalent, of its estimated savings. The notice shall include all the
			 information required in
			 801 CMR
			 52.03. In any political subdivision in which
			 an insurance advisory committee has not already been established under M.G.L.
			 c. 32B, § 3, the appropriate public authority shall notify the president
			 of each organization of employees affected and shall designate and notify a
			 retiree of a governmental unit as a member of the committee. The insurance
			 advisory committee, within ten days after receiving this notice, shall meet
			 with the appropriate public authority to discuss its estimated savings and any
			 reports or other documentation requested by the insurance advisory committee
			 before that meeting. If the committee does not meet within ten days after
			 receiving proper notice, it shall be considered to have discussed the matter
			 with the appropriate public authority.
(b) Not later than two business days after
			 the insurance advisory committee meets with the appropriate public authority or
			 ten days after the insurance advisory committee receives notice from the
			 appropriate public authority, whichever occurs first, a political subdivision
			 which has elected under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 21(a) to make changes under
			 M.G.L. c. 32B, § 22 or 23 shall, provide a notice of its decision, in
			 writing, to the president or designee of each collective bargaining unit and to
			 the RSCME and shall include the number of employees eligible for health
			 insurance under M.G.L. c. 32B employed in each bargaining unit of the political
			 subdivision.
(c) In any political
			 subdivision which has not previously formed a public employee committee under
			 M.G.L. c. 32B, § 19, the notice shall request that each of the collective
			 bargaining units and the RSCME provide the name, address, phone number, and
			 email address of its designated public employee committee
			 representative.
(d) Where a public
			 employee committee already exists under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 19, each
			 collective bargaining unit and RSCME shall, within two business days of receipt
			 of notice under 801 CMR 52.02(2)(d), provide the appropriate public authority
			 with the name, address, phone number and email address of its designated public
			 employee committee representative. If no public employee committee exists at
			 the time of receipt of the notice, each collective bargaining unit and RSCME
			 shall designate a representative to a public employee committee exclusively to
			 negotiate changes under M.G.L. c. 32B, §§ 21 through 23 and provide
			 the appropriate public authority with the name, address, phone number and email
			 address of its designated public employee committee representative within five
			 business days after receipt of notice under 801 CMR 52.02(3). If no public
			 employee committee exists at the time of receipt of notice from the political
			 subdivision and the appropriate public authority has not received this
			 information from a collective bargaining unit or RSCME within five business
			 days, the collective bargaining unit's principal officer shall be the unit's
			 representative on the public employee committee, the president of the RSCME
			 shall be its representative on the public employee committee, and the
			 appropriate public authority shall send the notice specified under
			 801 CMR
			 52.03 to the collective bargaining unit's
			 principal officer and to RSCME's president.