County moves to consolidate employee vision plans, staff says new plan will lower employee costs

Vanderburgh County commissioners voted Nov. 4 to consolidate two county vision-insurance plans into a single plan administered by HRI and powered by EyeMed, staff said.

Chris Maynard of Shepherd presented the recommendation and said the county currently offers two separate vision plans, which causes confusion. "Right now, with the county, you have 2 separate vision plans, and we're looking at consolidating that into 1," Maynard said. He explained the proposal would replace an Anthem exam-only plan and a UnitedHealthcare voluntary plan with a single HRI plan aligned to EyeMed.

Maynard said the consolidated plan would broaden coverage and reduce administrative work for the auditor's office. He also stated the proposed premiums would be lower than employees currently pay under the UnitedHealthcare option, producing a net savings for employees and the county as an employer. The county scheduled open-enrollment meetings and staff indicated extra days would be allowed to ensure employees, including retirees, have time to review the change.

Commissioners voted to approve the vision insurance policy change on the motion presented at the meeting.