Committee of the Whole approves $712,835.31 supplemental for health insurance claims

The Moraine City Council Committee of the Whole voted to approve a supplemental appropriation of $712,835.31 to cover health insurance claims and related budget shortfalls.

Finance director (name not specified) told the council that claims had come in higher than projected this year and that changes in employees'coverage elections also affected departmental budgets. "This appropriation of a total of $712,835.31. I wanna point out that $400,000 of that is directly in the fund in which we pay the claims out of," the finance director said, explaining that the $400,000 sits in the reserve fund used to pay Anthem for claims.

The director described how the claims fund operates: departments are charged for employee premiums and those amounts are deposited into the health insurance reserve, which is then used to pay claims. The director also cited increased comp claims costs as a contributing factor to the need for additional appropriations.

Council moved the legislation to the next council meeting and then voted on the appropriation. Roll-call voting recorded affirmative votes from the members who answered: Mister Bridgette (yes); Missus Witt (yes); Missus Allen (yes); Mayor Murphy (yes); Mister Miller (yes); and Miss Marcus (yes). The motion carried.

The action authorizes appropriations to the existing health insurance reserve and departmental accounts to ensure claims can be paid through the end of the fiscal year. No implementation timeline or additional funding sources were specified in the discussion.