Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Employee Health Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vermilion County board approves new employee health plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield
Summary
The Vermilion County Board voted to move county employee health coverage to a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan that officials say will lower premiums and reduce county costs; members debated whether employee contributions should have been negotiated with unions.
The Vermilion County Board voted to approve a new health-insurance plan design with Blue Cross Blue Shield, officials said on Aug. 12.
Human Resources Director Nancy Goose presented quotes from multiple carriers and said the Blue Cross plan offered the largest reduction in premiums while maintaining the current provider network. Goose said the recommended plan includes a lower deductible for tier-1 providers and changes to some co-pays.
Board members at the meeting in Danville praised the broker’s work but pressed for details on how the savings would be split between employees and the county. “I was under the impression that the contribution of the employees was going to stay the same,” said the county’s finance chairman (identified in the record by role), who said he expected contribution levels to be negotiated with unions. Nancy Goose responded that the county and employees would share the premium reduction proportionally because the county’s percentage of contribution is calculated as a share of the total cost under existing contracts.
A board member who tracks county finances said the change will reduce county costs and suggested the roughly $700,000 in anticipated savings should help a strained general fund. Goose and other presenters said implementation and open-enrollment education would begin promptly so coverage under the new plan can start in October.
The board called the question after discussion and took a roll-call vote to adopt the plan design. The motion passed and staff were authorized to proceed with enrollment and employee outreach.
The board did not finalize changes to any union contract at the meeting; members said negotiations and any formal change to employee contribution percentages would proceed through the normal bargaining process.
