July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Commissioners find a good deal (12/14/04)
Employees will have less deducated for health insurance
By By Jack Ronald-
Jay County Commissioners found what they were looking for Monday afternoon.
But it took some serious searching to get there.
Commissioners reviewed more than a dozen different options presented by four different insurance agents before selecting a plan which reduces costs to the county, makes coverage for dependents more affordable and maintains benefits close to current levels.
“Careful, they’re not used to good news,” joked commissioners’ attorney Brad Burkett Monday afternoon as lower price quotes were presented.
The commissioners opted for coverage from Principal Financial Group, presented by Apex Benefits Group Inc. of Indianapolis, which will be the agent of record on the plan.
Premium rates will be as follows: Employee, $414.58 per month; employee and spouse, a total of $673.27 per month; employee and children, a total of $631.24 per month; employee and family, a total of $889.93 per month.
All of those figures are below the current rates paid for coverage through UnitedHealthcare.
In addition, there would be a $6.80 per month premium to provide each employee with $20,000 in group term life insurance. Currently, county employees have $15,000 in life insurance.
The county has committed to $446 per month per employee to provide health insurance coverage. County employees will pay $1 per year for individual coverage. Employees wanting coverage for dependents will pay the added cost above $446.
The plan will have a $1,000 deductible for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for families within the Sagamore Plus preferred provider network. Deductibles out of network would be $2,000 for individuals and $6,000 for families.
Co-insurance will be 80 percent within the Sagamore network and 60 percent outside of the network. The out-of-pocket limit would be $3,000 in network and $5,000 out of network for individuals. For families, it would be $5,000 in network and $10,000 out of network.
Office visits in network will have a co-pay of $30 for family physicians and $45 for specialists. The prescription drug benefit will be a three-tiered system with $15 for generics and $35 and $50 for two tiers of brand name drugs.
As commissioners reviewed their options with John Gause, president of Apex, who has worked closely with the Association of Indiana Counties, the choice came down to Principal and MMA (Mennonite Mutual Aid) of Goshen, whose agent Sheri Tomac had made a presentation Monday morning.
Principal, in the end, had the best cost savings and was more affordable for those employees covering their children or spouse.
“You might actually have employees happy with you for a change,” Burkett told the commissioners. “And this still saves the county almost $30,000” based upon present enrollment numbers.
“You’re going to be saving money and giving money back to the employee,” said Commissioner Mike Leonhard.
“You’ve got my commitment we’ll do this thing right,” said Gause. “We’re ready to go ... You can probably expect temporary ID cards by Jan. 1.”
Prior to deciding on a new carrier, the commissioners unanimously rescinded last week’s vote to renew with UnitedHealthcare.
In other business Monday afternoon, commissioners agreed to buy two Ford Crown Victoria police cars from Les Wenning Ford for a total price of $36,640 after trade-ins. Sheriff Todd Penrod said that’s below the amount budgeted for police car replacement this year.
Wenning’s quote was the lowest of five presented by the sheriff for consideration.[[In-content Ad]]
But it took some serious searching to get there.
Commissioners reviewed more than a dozen different options presented by four different insurance agents before selecting a plan which reduces costs to the county, makes coverage for dependents more affordable and maintains benefits close to current levels.
“Careful, they’re not used to good news,” joked commissioners’ attorney Brad Burkett Monday afternoon as lower price quotes were presented.
The commissioners opted for coverage from Principal Financial Group, presented by Apex Benefits Group Inc. of Indianapolis, which will be the agent of record on the plan.
Premium rates will be as follows: Employee, $414.58 per month; employee and spouse, a total of $673.27 per month; employee and children, a total of $631.24 per month; employee and family, a total of $889.93 per month.
All of those figures are below the current rates paid for coverage through UnitedHealthcare.
In addition, there would be a $6.80 per month premium to provide each employee with $20,000 in group term life insurance. Currently, county employees have $15,000 in life insurance.
The county has committed to $446 per month per employee to provide health insurance coverage. County employees will pay $1 per year for individual coverage. Employees wanting coverage for dependents will pay the added cost above $446.
The plan will have a $1,000 deductible for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for families within the Sagamore Plus preferred provider network. Deductibles out of network would be $2,000 for individuals and $6,000 for families.
Co-insurance will be 80 percent within the Sagamore network and 60 percent outside of the network. The out-of-pocket limit would be $3,000 in network and $5,000 out of network for individuals. For families, it would be $5,000 in network and $10,000 out of network.
Office visits in network will have a co-pay of $30 for family physicians and $45 for specialists. The prescription drug benefit will be a three-tiered system with $15 for generics and $35 and $50 for two tiers of brand name drugs.
As commissioners reviewed their options with John Gause, president of Apex, who has worked closely with the Association of Indiana Counties, the choice came down to Principal and MMA (Mennonite Mutual Aid) of Goshen, whose agent Sheri Tomac had made a presentation Monday morning.
Principal, in the end, had the best cost savings and was more affordable for those employees covering their children or spouse.
“You might actually have employees happy with you for a change,” Burkett told the commissioners. “And this still saves the county almost $30,000” based upon present enrollment numbers.
“You’re going to be saving money and giving money back to the employee,” said Commissioner Mike Leonhard.
“You’ve got my commitment we’ll do this thing right,” said Gause. “We’re ready to go ... You can probably expect temporary ID cards by Jan. 1.”
Prior to deciding on a new carrier, the commissioners unanimously rescinded last week’s vote to renew with UnitedHealthcare.
In other business Monday afternoon, commissioners agreed to buy two Ford Crown Victoria police cars from Les Wenning Ford for a total price of $36,640 after trade-ins. Sheriff Todd Penrod said that’s below the amount budgeted for police car replacement this year.
Wenning’s quote was the lowest of five presented by the sheriff for consideration.[[In-content Ad]]
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