The Falls City, City Council, approved a motion to renew the city’s health insurance policy with Blue Cross Blue Shield with more options aimed at reducing the amount of a sizeable increase in the premium. 
The initial increase from Blue Cross Blue Shield was nearly 28-percent.  Dustin Will of Benefit Management told the council they were able to negotiate that down to a 25-percent increase.  Will also presented the council with three recommendations that he said would save the city money. 
One option is to create a high-deductible plan in addition to the traditional plan.  Will also suggested creating an “in-lieu-of-benefit” program.  That would involve giving an employee a cash benefit – that could be used for health insurance costs only – to transfer to another plan, such as a spouse’s plan or Medicare.
Will recommended two plans – a traditional plan with a $2500 deductible and a plan with a $3500 deductible.  To lessen the financial hit on employees, Will also recommended the city pay a portion of the deductible.  (play audio  :32)
Will said that would make financial sense for the employee and the city.  (play audio  :47)
Were the city to cover the increased insurance costs by just increasing the deductible, Will said the amount would have to go from the current $750 to $5,000 to keep the premiums level.
Will said the plan presented Monday would save the city approximately $67,000 over the course of the year, with total costs amounting to $741,000 as opposed to $808,000 under the original proposal.