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Council approves employee health-plan change after debate over provider networks and costs
Summary
The council approved a motion to move employee coverage to alternate WI provider networks (WI-1/WI-2) that staff said would reduce projected cost increases versus staying with UnitedHealthcare; the measure passed 8-6 after questions about pediatric provider access and projected dollar impacts.
After staff presentations on network coverage and projected costs, the Racine Common Council approved a change to the city's employee health care plan by an 8-6 vote. Finance and HR staff explained that the WI-1 network (including Aurora HealthCare) would have covered 99% of employee claims in prior data, while WI-2 covered 86%; staying with UnitedHealthcare was projected to increase costs by roughly $2.2 million, whereas offering a choice of alternate networks was projected to increase costs by a smaller margin (an estimated $200,000'$250,000) over current projections.
Alder Perez and others asked for clarification on pediatric access and provider counts; staff replied that there are multiple pediatric providers in Racine County and that the networks identified would minimize disruption for most employees. After discussion about projected additional costs and the administrative burden of implementing the provider-search tools, the council voted 8-6 to approve the plan change. The motion passed with recorded tallies of 8 ayes and 6 nos.
