Connect the dots; City must stay the course on health insurance reform.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

News Item: Changes in the design of Worcester city employees' health insurance plan will mean a $3 million saving to taxpayers while reducing payroll deductions for employees by some 4 percent.

News Item: Standard & Poor's rates Worcester's fiscal outlook "stable" and reaffirms the city's favorable bond rating, citing efforts to bolster budget reserves. Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings also reaffirm favorable ratings, citing spending restraint, a conservative budget approach and the city's five-point financial management plan.

It shouldn't take a financial wizard to connect the dots between those two items. While other cities have foundered, Worcester has achieved a measure of stability by focusing on "core" services, long-term fiscal planning and efficiency measures - including more cost-effective health benefits for employees and retirees.

Health-benefit reforms in the past few years have saved millions of dollars and have helped to shore up the city's bottom line. Yet, a few elected officials seem incapable of making the connection.

The fact is, such reforms can benefit taxpayers and city workers alike. A new health insurance plan, still being rolled out for municipal employees, is realizing major savings via a revised co-payment schedule that rewards prudent health-care decisions.

The $10 co-pay for a visit to a primary care physician and the graduated $10-$25 co-pays for prescription drugs are unchanged. However, the co-pay for a visit to a specialist doubles to $20, and the co-pay for an emergency room visit, now $50, goes to $75. The plan also introduces co-pays for day surgery and hospitalization, capped at $1,000 a year for an individual, $2,000 for a family.

As of July 1 about 2,000 enrollees had converted to the new plan, the city administration reported last week, and members of Local 495 will go onto the new plan Oct. 1.

For most employees, any additional out-of-pocket costs for co-pays will be offset by the 4 percent lower payroll deduction for insurance. At the same time, the city should save more than $3 million in health benefits once all employees have made the switch.

It is critical that the City Council resist politically motivated attempts to undermine the health-benefit reforms - and not only because of the direct cost.

Wall Street based its favorable assessment of Worcester's finances in large part on the city's pledge to use much of its modest store of free cash to boost reserves. Changing course now would place the favorable ratings at risk and could boost future borrowing costs by millions of dollars.

Neither taxpayers nor city employees would be well served by that budget-busting result.