Long after other towns saw a rebate on overpaid premiums paid into a risk management pool managed by HealthTrust, Temple, Bennington and Peterborough have gotten their own share.
Last week, Temple accepted a check of $2,999, their portion of the refund after lawyer’s fees. Bennington’s total award was $3,363 after attorney’s fees. Peterborough’s portion was significantly more than that – $19,382 after attorney fees.
Temple, Bennington and Peterborough were once part of the HealthTrust, a pooled risk management insurance service that were once under the umbrella of the Local Government Center. In 2014, the state Supreme Court ordered HealthTrust to return $17.1 million of improperly withheld surplus money paid in premiums to its member towns. A boon for those enrolled – except that when the order came down, Temple, Bennington and Peterborough, and several other towns and cities were no longer members of Health Trust, though they had been during the time period of 2003-2010 – when it was determined that Health Trust was overcharging premiums.
Temple, Bennington and Peterborough, along with five other former member towns, sued for their share of the pie. In October, the courts again ruled that in favor of the municipalities, ordering that an additional $2.3 million be repaid to those towns that paid into the pool within 60 days.
Receiving their checks puts the end to a wait these towns have been anticipating for several years. The other towns that benefited from the order and additional refund are Salem, Auburn, Meredith, Northfield and Plainfield.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.