Belmont Select Board eyes GIC switch as health insurance trust nears minimum reserve

BELMONT -- March 11, 2026, Belmont Select Board moves toward a vote on joining the state Group Insurance Commission to contain exploding health care costs. Town Administrator Patrice Garvin told the board at a March 11 public information session that self-insured claims have surged from $13 million in FY2021 to a projected $20 million in FY2027, driven largely by GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and high-cost specialty medications, and that the town's Health Insurance Trust is on track to hit its minimum reserve of approximately $4.3 million by June 30. Staying self-insured would require a 24 percent FY2027 premium increase adding roughly $3 million to the operating budget; joining the GIC would reduce that impact to approximately $2 million, with a projected 5 percent savings and roughly $350,000 returned to employees under state law. Chair Matthew Taylor, who said he spent nine years recommending against the move before concluding "now, I personally think it's yes," indicated the board expects to vote on GIC enrollment at its March 23 meeting, with a July 1 enrollment deadline required for January 1, 2027 coverage. Member Elizabeth Dionne cited Lexington's recent $4.7 million budget shortfall driven entirely by health care costs, resolved through layoffs, as a warning of what Belmont faces without action.