The City of Huron Insurance Committee has approved a new insurance plan from Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield for next year. Human Resource Director Pat Schmidt says the Committee looked at a number of options…
The City’s previous deductibles were 750 and 1000 dollars. Mayor Dave McGirr says the plan cost the city 11-percent less…
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2011/11/cityhealthins2.mp3|titles=cityhealthins2]McGirr says part of the reason for the increases has been a the large number of claims filed by city employees…
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2011/11/cityhealthins3.mp3|titles=cityhealthins3]Two of the claims alone were over 50-thousand dollars. Most were for health related reasons and not worker’s compensation claims. With a lower claims history the city could have seen inflationary increases for health insurance of about eight percent instead of the 17-percent in the new plan. McGirr says the insurance committee has talked about ways to get city workers healthier…
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2011/11/cityhealthins4.mp3|titles=cityhealthins4]The Huron City Commission also approved an increase in the amount used in a flex spending plan to 2500-dollars and city employees have the option of using a debt card for payment options with that plan.