Perryville city employees will see higher deductibles next year

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Under an insurance plan adopted last week, city employees will see a 33 percent increase in their health-care deductibles and a slight rise in their out-of-pocket costs for some prescription drugs, but the rest of their benefits will remain the same.

The board of aldermen accepted a plan through Coventry Health Care that will cost the city $947,549.04 in premiums over the next year -- a 26.5 percent increase over the $747,641.28 cost of this year's plan.

At the board's regular meeting last week, city administrator Brent Buerck and insurance agent Travis Tyson attributed the premium increase to two factors: costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, which added about 5 percent to the city's premiums, and several expensive claims employees filed in the past year.

Reached by telephone Wednesday, Buerck said if this year proves to be an aberration, and claims go down next year, premiums likely will drop the following year.

"The main thing is if we can show a healthier year, we'll see a decline in premiums," he said.

The new plan comes with a $1,500 deductible and $3,500 out-of-pocket maximum for individuals using in-network services, according to a spreadsheet provided to the board by Lakenan Insurance.

The in-network deductible for the old plan was $1,000, with a $2,500 out-of-pocket maximum, according to the spreadsheet.

The co-pay for some prescription drugs will be $10 higher under the new plan.

To keep the same plan, the city would have had to shoulder a 31.9 percent increase in premiums.

Board members looked at several options that offered more limited coverage, including a pair of more expensive plans from United Healthcare and a less expensive Coventry plan.

In the end, aldermen tried to balance the cost of premiums against employees' coverage needs, Buerck said.

"I think the goal was for council to figure out, based on employees' needs and city's needs, where the paths crossed," he said Wednesday.

The city picks up the tab for employees' premiums, but if employees wish to insure their dependents, they must pay those premiums themselves, Buerck said.

Employee insurance premiums come out of department budgets, he said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Perryville, Mo.