I was very excited when Gov. Deval Patrick put forth the Municipal Partnership Plan. Unfortunately, all of the components have not been approved by the legislature. One of the areas approved was the offering of the state employee Group Insurance plan to municipalities. This was approved with the caveat that 70 % of unions endorse the city's inclusion in the plan. For the record, I do not participate in the city's plan but am a member of the state's plan through my husband's employment. Therefore, I know first hand what a great plan it is. I believe that in the current budgetary environment, the city needs to investigate any and all means available to it in order to maintain services to the community. I would hope that the unions attempt to balance the budgetary concerns of our city while maintaining a high, if not higher standard of health services for its membership when contemplating its involvement.
