Gov. Maura Healey gets 10 days to act on legislation that reaches her desk, but she used no more than four hours of that time to sign the Group Insurance Commission financing bill sent to her Thursday afternoon.
Healey’s office said that she had signed the bill appropriating $240 million to cover claims for the rest of the fiscal year at the GIC, which oversees health insurance for 460,000 public employees, retirees and their families.
The agency flagged weeks ago that it was on track to run out budgeted funds to pay claims on May 12 and Healey sought the funding as part of a $756 million request she filed in early April, but the measure was stalled for weeks amid other spending bills.
Late last week, insurers that partner with the GIC to administer its plan began telling providers they would stop paying for services until the fund was refilled — either by the Legislature now or at the start of the next fiscal year July 1. That prompted an outcry from the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, which warned of “serious financial consequences” for providers and patients alike.
On Monday, the House passed a standalone bill authorizing $240 million for the GIC, and at its next session on Thursday the Senate followed suit. The two branches coordinated to get it to Healey’s desk shortly after noon Thursday.
The MHA noted that the GIC announced as early as December that it had been over budget every month of this fiscal year. In February, the GIC then publicly stated it was spending approximately $20 million monthly above budgeted amounts.
In January, GIC Executive Director Matthew Veno highlighted the agency’s budget shortfalls as a going concern.
“This is the largest variance that we’ve seen in at least a decade, and this is consistent across all of our plans, and is driven primarily by rising provider prices and a couple of other topics,” he said at the time. He added, “We don’t know where this is going to head. My concern is that it is a persistent and steady trend going forward.”
Last month, he said the higher fiscal 2025 costs have already been taken into account for the agency’s fiscal 2026 budget request. The GIC’s “plan premium and costs” are projected at $2.16 billion for fiscal 2025 and Healey requested a $2.4 billion allocation for fiscal 2026, a funding level also recommended in the House budget and by the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
The health insurance agency for Mass. state employees will run out of money on MondayRising drug prices are hammering patients, employers, and insurers. Is there any end in sight?
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