Westford Finance Committee Narrows Health Insurance Review to Two Options

WESTFORD — May 26, 2026 — Westford Finance Committee narrows health insurance review to self-insured trust changes or GIC, with a $3.5 million savings figure on the table. Meeting May 26, the committee questioned consultant Pat Harrington of Lockton Companies on the difference between redesigning the town's existing Harvard Pilgrim self-insured plan to mirror GIC "benchmark" coverage — projected to save only about $503,000 while shifting costs to employees — and actually joining the Group Insurance Commission, which Harrington said would produce guaranteed premium savings of approximately $3.5 million in total, with the town's share near $2.27 million. The trust covers 723 retirees against just 519 active employees, a demographic imbalance committee member John Fryer called "not what I would have expected." Former Town Manager Jody Ross cautioned against the GIC, citing the state program's $300 million underfunding and warning that exiting later could cost seven to eight million dollars. Committee member Nate countered that "doing nothing shouldn't be an option" given the town's structural deficit, listing Arlington, Lexington, Sudbury, and Brookline among the roughly two dozen municipalities already in the GIC. The Finance Committee must provide guidance to the Select Board before June; the Insurance Advisory Committee receives the Lockton report on June 3.