Cape Girardeau County considers rewarding health care thrift

The Cape Girardeau County Commission heard a medical benefits proposal Thursday that would pay employees to compare medical procedure costs.

County Clerk Kara Clark Summers outlined premiums from four possible providers of 2012 employee group medical plans and recommended a change from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to Group Health Plan, part of Coventry Health Care of Missouri Inc.

Summers said that 11 of the approximately 175 employees covered by the county plan in 2011 accounted for 75 percent of claim costs. The county is given an anonymous overall report of claims and Summers found that comparison shopping among different providers for the same procedures could have saved $2,000 to $3,000 for basic diagnostic tests and $70,000 or more for surgeries.

GHP has an online feature for members that enables them to compare costs and choose the most economical provider. Summers suggested incentives such as giving a percentage of the savings to plan members or reimbursing travel expenses to encourage employees to shop for better deals.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy asked if joining a larger group or forming a pool with other counties would save money. Summers said that option was studied in the past and had not found potential savings. She said groups with similar health conditions would result in similar rates and that groups with better overall health would be unlikely take on a large group that makes costly claims. Also, it was found that keeping members local creates better choices in nearby medical providers.

Summers said she wants to try to reduce costs.

"If you don't do anything, you are not going to get any results," Summers said.

An employee wellness program that would improve overall health so that fewer claims are made is the best strategy for lowering costs, Summers said. The new package would include free on-site screenings intended to help raise awareness about simple things employees can do to improve their health at home and at work.

Tracy accepted the proposal for review. Summers said she hoped a decision could be made quickly to allow at least a month for employee education and for the county to process new enrollment information.

The county pays 100 percent of full-time employee monthly premiums, which would be $496.63 per individual under GHP. Employees have the option of paying for coverage for family members. Using a 40 hour per week standard, full medical benefits coverage adds about $2.87 per hour to county employee pay.

Annual Anthem premiums for all employees in 2011 were around $984,711 and 2012 rates were quoted at approximately $1,170,057, an increase of more than 18 percent. The GHP plan would cost roughly $1,042,923 annually, 6 percent more than last year but $127,134 less than the Anthem 2012 quote.

According to an annual national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Education Trust, the average monthly premium for employer-sponsored health insurance by nonfederal private and public employers in 2011 is $452.42 and covered workers contribute an average of 18 percent of the premium for single coverage.

In other business, Edward J. Rice Co. Inc. was the sole bidder for new voter registration canvassing services. Every two years, counties are required to send all voters updated registration cards by mail. Summers has said she would like to make the process more efficient by using a system that compares the voter lists to U.S. Postal Service records, eliminating outdated addresses. The $14,496 bid was referred by the commission to her office for review and final approval.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3648

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1 Barton Sq., Jackson, MO