In mid-July, 74 retired teachers from the Harvard schools were notified by letter that the town was considering a change to their health insurance because of “the current state of insurance costs.” Pattee Road resident George Bernauer, who taught foreign languages for 30 years at the Bromfield School, said he and other retirees were “totally in the dark” about how the proposed change might affect either their costs or the medical services available to them.
Currently Harvard’s retired teachers, and often their spouses, are insured through the Retired Municipal Teachers plan, under the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission. According to the July 18 letter, signed by Town Administrator Tim Bragan, the selectmen may decide to switch the teachers to the Minuteman Nashoba Health Group, the organization through which other retired town employees are covered. The MNHG is a joint-purchase group that includes a dozen towns and four school districts.
The town’s letter invited teachers to attend a public hearing on the issue at the selectmen’s Aug. 22 meeting, where they could voice their concerns. Bernauer said he expects many retirees and current teachers to show up.
Former teacher Therese Keoseian, in a letter to the editor, called the plan retirees have now “a far superior model and plan compared to the Minuteman Nashoba Health Care plan.”
Bernauer summed up his own reaction, saying, “It’s terrible to spring this on us. … It’s just shameful.”
When the matter was previously discussed at the selectmen’s July 11 meeting, Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro, who is also the town’s human resources director, said one reason to make the change was to establish parity in benefit offerings and premium shares. The selectmen voted unanimously to schedule the hearing and send the 30-day notification required by state law when making such a change. State law also leaves the final decision in the hands of the selectmen.
