Town Meeting approved all but one request at its fall meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and indefinitely postponed a resident’s petition for a “health insurance investigation.”
The petition asked the task force to appoint a committee to study the potential effects and benefits to towns and their employees from the Massachusetts Medicare-for-All bill currently before the state Legislature. .
According to MassCare’s website, the bill calls for a single-payer health care system, which would mean eliminating the role of private health insurance companies and creating more savings for employees.
Upon request, the commission plans to present its findings at the next town meeting.
However, Town Counsel Anthony Savastano said the request was legal for several reasons, including that it was not written as a writ clause, that there were inconsistencies within the request, and that the Town Board would need authority over the Select Board. He said it was not.
This article has been amended to remove the line “appointed by the select committee.” But the request remains ineffective because no one else has the authority to do so and the request is complicated by other legal issues, Savastano said.
Supporters of the request argued that if passed, the bill would relieve some of the “strain” caused by soaring insurance premiums.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to our employees and the town to provide the highest quality health insurance coverage possible,” said Peter Knowlton of the 6th Precinct.
Some who spoke about the request said they support this “grassroots effort” but believe it could be done in other ways, and that an approval vote at Town Meeting would not benefit the effort in this situation. Some people think so.
Interim Joint Town Administrator Chris Vitale said the town has a group that continues to evaluate health insurance to find ways to alleviate costs, but that scope does not include the focus on the bill highlighted in the request. said it was not included.
Board Selectman Sean MacDonald said changes could come from the state Legislature, and it could be difficult to study the impact of pending bills.
“It comes down to how much each taxpayer can afford to pay for health care, because ultimately these benefits are paid for by taxpayers,” he said. ” he said.
MacDonald said the town’s current contribution rate is 54 percent, and the high deduction system can be as high as 70 percent, adding that it all depends on the town’s tax base.
“We have to decide: Do we want to pay more for a more livable community?” MacDonald said, “It’s OK to look at our health insurance differently, but… “There’s a pending bill — I don’t know — because when it comes out, it’s a different animal.”
