Scott County commission considering bids for city employee health insurance

BENTON, Mo. -- When it comes to health insurance, Scott County commissioners want to keep their prices low, but also provide a good plan for the employees.

"One thing we are trying to do is hold our insurance as best we can for our employees," Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said. "That is a really good benefit offered here."

Insurance representatives at Thursday's meeting agreed, and said one of the best benefits is the $1,000 deductible in the current plan. The county pays 85 percent of the premium for each enrolled employee.

The commission opened bids from 10 entities during its meeting. They were from Anderson Green Insurance in Sikeston, Mo. (the county's current provider); Broker Benefit Services in St. Charles, Mo.; Mitchell Insurance in Sikeston; Dwayne Lorenz in Sikeston; Coalter Financial Strategies in Cape Girardeau; Chap Arnold Insurance in Scott City; First State Insurance Agency in Cape Girardeau; Marathon Benefits Group in Cape Girardeau; the Missouri Public Entity Benefits in Jefferson City, Mo., and Charlie McElya of Benton, Ky.

Some agencies only supplied bids for one company, while others had more than one. All the bids had several options that would slightly alter the price. Health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts and health incentive accounts were also addressed in the bids.

Burger said he appreciated the individuals' work in compiling the bids.

"We are going to take these bids under advisement, look at them over the weekend, and hopefully make a decision by Thursday," he said. Burger said once he and his fellow commissioners had a chance to look through the bids, they may be in contact with some of the representatives for follow-up questions.

One option the representatives stressed were the HRA accounts. Several of the represenatives said the HRAs could save money and that many companies are using them now. HRA accounts have a higher deductible, which the county could offset for employees by providing funds for each employee on a debit card. It could also allocate any unused funds back to the county at the end of the calendar year.

McElya said there are advantages and disadvantages to HRAs and similar plans.

"Sometimes it works better because you don't have a co-pay. Also, all the charges go toward the deductible so it's met more quickly," he said.

The downside, McElya said, is that there are no discounts or tiers so people are charged full price for a prescription.

Lorenz also mentioned that commissioners should look into what insurance plans are accepted by area health care agencies.

"Some of the proposals may not be accepted by some of the doctors in the county," he said.

Deke Lape of Mitchell Insurance said there are several options with all of the quotes given.

"I think it would be in the county's best interest to look over the quotes, then interview a few brokers and see what we can do," he said.

Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn said that is likely.

"I think we're going to have to call on you again to put this together," he said. "We may need to create a new plan of action, not only to save money but also give our employees the best benefits possible."