27 June, 2012
Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez today announced the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) Re-enrollment Team has been awarded one of this year’s Manuel Carballo Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Public Service. The Re-enrollment Team re-enrolled 78,000 active state employees in health insurance plans. During reenrollment 30 percent chose to enroll in lower cost plans, saving the Commonwealth more than $20 million this fiscal year.
“I’m proud of each member of the GIC Re-enrollment team’s hard work to help drive the Patrick-Murray Administration’s health care cost containment efforts,” said Secretary Gonzalez. “Thanks to the dedicated work of the GIC staff, we were able to achieve savings for the Commonwealth, while continuing to provide state workers high-quality, lower cost health care.”
Governor Deval Patrick has made it a priority to lower health care costs while providing accessible high quality care for the Commonwealth’s residents. Today's announcement is one of a number of health care cost containment initiatives of the Governor’s, including comprehensive health care payment and delivery reform legislation designed to control rising health care costs and improve patient care, as well as re-procurement efforts from Commonwealth Care and Mass Health to improve patient care and contain health care costs.
“The team that implemented this complex and important project is more than deserving,” said Dolores L. Mitchell, the GIC’s Executive Director. “This is the third Carballo award the GIC has won, a testament to our staff’s commitment to implementing innovative ways of offering comprehensive benefits at affordable costs, and providing superior customer service.”
The Carballo Award is the Commonwealth’s highest honor for state employees, named after the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Manuel Carballo, who is remembered for his dedication and commitments to the physically and mentally challenged, elders and children, families in crisis, and citizens in need. The award is given annually to ten employees or groups of employees who exemplify the highest standards of excellence in public service.
The GIC was established by the Legislature in 1955 to provide health, life, and other benefits to state employees, retirees, and their dependents. The GIC also covers housing and redevelopment authorities' personnel, participating municipalities, and retired municipal employees and teachers in certain governmental units. There are currently over 220,000 enrollees and almost 400,000 lives covered by the GIC. A fifteen-member commission representing labor, retirees, municipal management, the public interest, the Administration, and expertise in health economics governs the GIC.
