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Town staff reviews alternatives to HealthTrust, seeks public input on potential plan change
Summary
Town Administrator Emily presented a preliminary comparison of the town's HealthTrust coverage and a Baldwin Group higher-deductible offering and asked for public input and further rate comparisons before any decision.
Town Administrator Emily briefed the select board on Sept. 23 about preliminary health-insurance options for the town and asked for public input and further analysis before any decision.
Emily said Tamworth currently participates in HealthTrust, a municipal risk pool, and the town contributes 90% of employees’ premiums under the current arrangement. The Baldwin Group, a private (non-pool) insurer, provided an alternative quote for an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plan with a higher deductible and lower premiums. Emily said the Baldwin quote showed lower total annual premium outlays and that, depending on employer/employee cost-sharing choices, the town could realize savings in the neighborhood of $28,000 in its early estimates.
Emily explained tradeoffs: a higher-deductible plan reduces monthly premiums but increases the out-of-pocket exposure for employees unless the town elects to pay some or all of the deductible through an employer-funded account. She said the Baldwin Group proposal uses a prepaid card mechanism to cover deductible amounts for employees and that Baldwin staff offered to provide education sessions for employees and spouses to explain plan details.
Board members asked about network continuity, how switching would affect employees’ doctors and hospitals, and whether nearby municipalities had made similar changes. Emily said Anthem would remain the carrier and in-network providers would generally remain the same; she said she would collect comparative rate sheets from HealthTrust and Baldwin and report back at the October meetings. A board member suggested obtaining a municipal insurance consultant or additional local comparisons; Emily said she had contacted New Hampshire Municipal Association and others and planned to gather more benchmarking data about neighboring towns’ contributions and plan structures.
No action was taken; Emily said final rates from HealthTrust arrive Oct. 7 and she will present comparative quotes and modeled employer/employee cost-sharing options for board consideration before the annual renewal deadline.
