The Phelps County Commission reviewed Thursday seven bids submitted by health-care insurance brokers seeking to provide health insurance for an anticipated 128 county employees in 2010.
Although Phelps County employs a total of 180 full-time or part-time employees, 128 employees historically have opted for the health-insurance benefit, of which 90 percent of the cost is paid by the county and 10 percent is paid by employees.
Of the seven bids submitted, two brokers submitted equal bids incorporating renewal rates by the county’s present health-insurance carrier, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Bids submitted by Rolla agencies, Jenks-Long Insurance, Inc., and NE Financial, Inc. detailed a base rate of $475 a month for each subscriber.
Three more health-care options offered by Jenks-Long included bids from United Healthcare with a base rate of $348.94, Principal Life Insurance Co. with a base rate of $412.72 and Harrington Health with a base rate of $564.
Mercy Health Plans also submitted a bid with a base rate of $492.27.
Representing Mercy, Senior Account Executive Debbie Harms told the Commission the provider recently decided to absorb the out-of-network costs for their patients who receive inpatient care at Phelps County Regional Medical Center.
“We won’t have a ‘discounted fee,’ but inpatient services will be billed as in-network,” Harms said.
Harms said, however, that Mercy clients will incur out-of-network costs for diagnostic services provided by PCRMC. The new Mercy Clinic in Rolla offered every outpatient service PCRMC offered except for two procedures — diagnostic mammograms and barium-contrast enemas, Harms said.
“If the Commission chooses Mercy Health Plans, it might change the hospital’s mind about not renewing the contract,” Harms said to the commissioners.
When asked whether the prospect of county employees utilizing a medical facility other than the county-owned hospital presented any potential conflict, District 1 Commissioner Larry Stratman said, “My main obligation is to do what’s best for employees of Phelps County and making sure they have the best possible benefits with our hospital.
“Since they’re (Mercy Health Plans) out-of-network with our hospital, they’ve evened the playing field by enhancing their benefits.”
Another broker offering a bid from Rogers Benefit Group, a St. Louis-based company, was Ashby’s Covenant Insurance, of St. James. The base rate offered was $344.42.
All the bids for employee health-care benefits incorporated a variety of different options for co-pays, deductibles and premium packages, and most of them included life-insurance options.
The Commission said it would carefully review the choices and render a decision on the bids no later than Dec. 1.
State law requires counties to rebid services for employees’ health insurance a minimum of once every three years.
