Merrillville ready to drop self-funded insurance for employees

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Updated: March 24, 2012 9:01AM

MERRILLVILLE — The majority of the Town Council plans to vote Tuesday to switch to a fully funded insurance plan for employees, which they say will result in a $175,000 savings to the town while employee contributions will remain unchanged.

“We want to reduce our budget amount and still give employees insurance. I don’t see how this isn’t a win-win,” Council President Shawn Pettit, D-6th, said at Wednesday’s Town Council workshop session.

Pettit and council members Tom Goralczyk, D-4th, Carol Miano, D-3rd, and Donald Spann, D-1st, all said they would vote in favor of the new plan with Aetna insurance as presented by Forest Financial Group Inc., of Lake Forest, Ill.

Councilwoman Chrissy Barron, D-5th, was the only council member present who opposed the move. Councilmen Richard Hardaway, D-2nd, and Ron Widing, D-7th, who is also a town employee, were not at the workshop session.

Barron said she believes the plan will cost employees more because some tests and laboratory work may not be included in the employee’s co-pay amount if they are done in a separate laboratory instead of the doctor’s office.

“If this plan costs the employees more, and it will, I’m not voting for it,” Barron said after the meeting.

“We haven’t done anything for town employees because we’re broke. Now we’re going to dump this on them,” she said.

A representative of the insurance consultants said, unlike with self-insurance, the co-pay would depend on how a doctor’s office codes a visit.

“There will be some risks. Some employees will be adversely affected,” J. Anthony Alberico, vice president, sales and marketing, with Forest Financial Group, conceded when pressed by Barron.

The town also will have a four-month period in which it would be responsible to pay claims as a result of the switch.

“We’ll have to bite the bullet the first year. We probably will break even. But this will become a budgetable item and we won’t have to pay claims anymore,” Goralczyk said.