City council members voted to carry over the existing Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance policy for 2012-2013, with premiums decreasing since 2011. IN OTHER BUSINESS:
The insurance policy, up for renewal Nov. 1, has seen premium decreases of 8.5 percent since 2012 — $351.57 down to $321.87 a month for an individual. The policy has been “grandfathered in” by the city since 2004. The current deductible for city employees is $1,500 for individuals; $3,000 for families.
David Dillon, a representative with Blue Cross Blue Shield, detailed three different policy options for city council members to discuss before renewing the policy.
The first option was to keep the city’s policy the same, accepting the 8.5 percent drop in the last year.
The second option was to renew the plan under the Affordable Care Act under the Obama administration. This plan would provide free preventive care services to city employees, with the cost of the programs being paid by the city. This plan would result in a 7 percent reduction in premiums.
The third policy option would be to integrate a $2,500-5,000 deductible, while providing preventative services for city employees. This would continue to lower the premium rate for the city, down to 12 percent, due to the increase in deductibles for the city employees.
The “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mindset was behind the decision to keep the city’s insurance policy from recent years. Councilwoman Nancy Ford said the preventive health services under Obamacare may not be taken advantage of by the employees, leaving the city paying for programs that are not being used efficiently. She said the city could maintain its lower premiums and provide good quality health insurance to its employees.
Council members also discussed the need for wellness programs, similar to the health fair organized by the city. Ford said programs such as the health fair would be more beneficial to employees, while saving the city money in the long run. The health fair offers free blood tests and screenings to its employees.
Dillon said premiums for the city’s plan are determined by the number of insurance claims in the 32 months prior to a policy renewal. The council lauded city employees for their healthy lifestyles.
• Council members approved changes to background checks for coaches and volunteers hired by the city. The stricter regulations involved preventing the acquisition of employees with federal sex offenses and federal violent offenses on their record.
• Council members approved “Happy Tails” as the name for the new dog park, located on South Chestnut Street.
• Iola Industries was granted $15,000 from the city to create a new position for economic development. The new position will be under the Thrive Allen County organization. Iola Industries was to have sought an additional $15,000 grant from the county this morning. Iola Industries will provide $15,000 from its own budget to fulfill the $45,000 allotted for the position. The proposed budget for the position includes salary, benefits and “some overhead expenses.”
• Council members approved a request by city employees to wave the formal bidding process to buy 300 tons of asphalt for patching streets this winter. The city is bidding with three different companies for asphalt: SeKan Asphalt, Gas, Venture Corporation, Great Bend, and Whitaker Aggregates, Mound City. City employees cited availability of asphalt and the proximity of the asphalt provider to the construction site as factors in the decision of which asphalt provider to consider.
• Council members approved a revised draft agreement between the Electric Power Pool and Westar Energy, Inc. The first draft of the agreement was brought before the council in September and the agreement needed re-approval due to minor edits.
• The council postponed a request to pay back a $31,880.62 grant made to the city by FEMA during the 2007 flood. The grant was to be used to repair underground flood pump stations, but was later denied by FEMA. Councilman David Toland requested to postpone the process to make every effort to reverse the denial of the grant.
• The council approved a monetary settlement to be paid to Bill Farmer for conditions involving his arrest in April. Settlement amounts were not released to the public.
City council opts to retain insurance policy
