"GYM BAG: IN SMALL, UNMARKED CONSECUTIVE BILLS"

So the city of Quincy is going from being self-insured to actually purchasing insurance.

The difference, as you probably know is that, in self-insurance, the city maintains a pile of money and then hires a third party administrator to handle claims from that pile of money.  When the city pays that money into the "pile" or city retirees pay money (their own premiums) into that "pile" it goes into a segregated fund, a dedicated account under the control of the City.

Now, the City is going to stop that and simply pay premiums (and have the retirees pay premiums) to an actual insurance company.  So the city won't be maintaining that pile of money anymore.  When the self-insurance winds down, there will almost certainly be several hundred thousand dollars in the "pile" after all the claims are paid.

So where will the pile go?  Will we see a big deposit into the general fund?  Will it be redistributed out to the member of the plan who paid premiums to offset premium payments for the new insurance?  Or maybe for a little Downton Abbey redecorating?  I hear that's hot now.

Of one thing we can be sure of.  This administration will be as transparent about this as it was with the information regarding the bid specs on the employee health plan recently.  In other words.....Close your eyes.  What do you see?

Be on the lookout for that pile.