Dudley Select Board unanimously approves switch to Mass Strategic Health Group for employee insurance

DUDLEY — March 16, 2026 — Dudley Select Board votes to exit Hampshire County insurance trust for a smaller regional purchasing group. The board voted unanimously Monday to leave the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust and join Mass Strategic Health Group, a five-member joint purchasing authority also including the town of Webster, Dudley-Charlton School District, Spencer East Brookfield School District, and the town of Charlton, effective July 1, 2026. The Insurance Advisory Committee, which voted unanimously in favor before the joint meeting, recommended the no-plan-design-change option that holds active employee premiums flat against the October 1, 2025 rate baseline — roughly $126 less per individual plan per month than what Hampshire County's approved 12.48 percent increase would have cost. IAC member Carpignani raised concerns about Dudley's elevated loss-run ratio of 1.35, warning that a bad claims year under the smaller joint authority could require the town to write a check or change benefits mid-year, but an NFP consultant countered that a $50,000 reinsurance pool threshold, prescription drug rebates returning 25 to 30 percent of pharmacy spend, and aggregate stop-loss coverage structurally offset that risk. The board also voted unanimously to open the May 18 annual town meeting warrant for citizens' petitions March 25 and close it April 6.