Live Oak switches insurance carrier
The Live Oak City Council approved a new group health insurance provider for city employees and OK’d spending nearly $200,000 in special funds for park repairs and a new fire vehicle during a Sept. 8 meeting.
Council approved Humana as the new health insurance company for city employees and ended a nine-year relationship with Aetna Healthcare because the firm wanted a large premium increase, said insurance consultant Bob Feike.
“We got quite a shock from Aetna when they wanted to go up 39 percent on health care premiums. City employees cannot afford that, so after a long relationship with Aetna we had to take a look and see what else was out there,” he said.
Feike conceded the city had some very high claims in the past year but said the nearly 40 percent increase was way too high.
The city’s insurance consultant said after going out for bids on health insurance three companies responded — Humana, Blue Cross and United Healthcare.
After reviewing all the information from the three companies, Feike and city staff recommended Humana.
Feike said Humana is offering a triple option. The first is a standard plan – typically where a city pays 100 percent for employee benefits and about half for dependents – while two other plans allow employees to pay for additional or specialized health coverage.
“Humana is also offering free things like flu shots, health fairs and a wellness program for city employees,” Feike said.
Council members also approved using Economic Development Corporation (EDC) funds to pay for $97,000 in repairs to the city park octagon pavilion, concession building and clubhouse.
Economic Development Manager Carol Buttler said designating EDC funds for the park upgrade meets the legal criteria for types of projects EDC funds can be used for.
City Council also OK’d spending $100,000 in EDC dollars for a new fire department rescue vehicle to be equipped with essential gear and apparatus.
Council members were told the city’s current rescue vehicle is more than 20 years old and has reached the end of its usefulness.
