Six more communities are on the verge of finalizing savings agreements, while 38 other communities and school districts have voted to move forward with reform but have yet to commence the nitty-gritty negotiations over savings.
“It is really striking how quickly this has grabbed hold,’’ says Michael Widmer, president of the foundation. “And these are just first-year savings, which will compound over time.’’
One elected official who deserves particular credit for making all that possible is legislative-regular-turned-unlikely-reformer Robert A. DeLeo, the speaker of the House. A couple of years ago, DeLeo eyed the issue in the wary way a cat might a skunk. One night I got on the elevator with the speaker, who noted, pointedly, that the House had just finished work on a worthwhile reform. Well, then, it’s time to tackle municipal health care, I said, half-kiddingly. That reform, after all, was a tough one for a Democrat because of organized labor’s fierce opposition to any weakening of the de facto veto local unions had over changes to their health care plans. That same veto, of course, had repeatedly stymied cost-cutting efforts, leaving cities and towns funding silver-plated plans long after the private sector had moved to higher co-payments and deductibles.
The speaker looked at me like I’d suggested he become a vegan. So I can have everybody in the state mad at me? he asked. Given that, I didn’t expect the House to have any appetite for municipal health reform; since Governor Patrick had shown a similar lack of enthusiasm, its prospects seemed bleak.
But over time, the taxpayers foundation and the Boston Foundation highlighted how large the potential savings were. An important study by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education and the Boston Foundation, meanwhile, revealed that soaring local health care costs were devouring dollars intended for education reform.
