Government Workers and the people they serve

     We have all heard by now of the weavers granted to companies that are opting out of Obamacare.  It is a known fact that many years ago government employees did not have the better paying jobs.  To compensate for this, perks were added like insurance and many paid vacation days.  Today, through collective bargaining and with lots of other peoples money, this has changed and these workers have both.   While we were all trying to survive through the recession and make sacrifices, government workers, in the most part, kept their jobs and today have a good wage and many benefits not afforded the private sector.  This is soon to change.

Workers in Massachusetts cities and towns are benefiting from health plans that are far richer that the average offerings at private sector companies, or the plans offered to state workers. This conclusion comes from a new report by the Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which called the municipal health plans "extraordinarily rich."
The study found that the average cost of a family plan for municipal workers is 37 percent higher than the average private sector premium and 21 percent more than the state's Group Insurance Commission plans.
The report found that on average, local workers pay $11 co-pays to see a primary care physician, compared with
twice that for state and private sector workers. For specialists, municipal workers paid an average of $14, while state workers and private sector workers paid $20. Nine communities had no co-pays for most other medical services, such as MRIs, lab work, and even hospitalization. None of the municipalities' health plans included deductibles.
The study compared municipal premiums and cost sharing for 28 municipal government plans, two state plans, one federal plan, and the average benefits in plans found in a 2010 statewide survey of employer benefits conducted by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.
The report states that unless there are changes to these plans, more cuts to education and local services will likely ensue.