Cloverdale forced to shake up employee health insurance

CLOVERDALE — On the heels of a deadline for renewing insurance for the town’s employees, Cloverdale officials had to move quickly to ensure they would be covered for the next year.

Revelations about the town’s former provider, though, meant that a last-minute change needed to be made.

The Cloverdale Town Council made these considerations with guidance from Andrew O’Hair, the town’s insurance agent from EPIC Insurance Midwest, during a special meeting held Thursday evening.

O’Hair outlined that the town had previously decided to stick with a plan through Medova Healthcare Financial Group. This was compared to switching to United or Anthem, which would have brought a 43-percent rate increase at best.

However, it was found out soon after that the federal government had stepped in to administer Medova’s claims. In essence, this indicated that the Kansas-based provider was unviable.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Labor last April, an independent fiduciary was appointed to serve as a claims administrator and oversee employee plans. The release also provides that Medova was being investigated for misuses which “created a critical funding deficiency” with its plans.

The release notes that as of last November, Medova was the provider for plans serving more than 35,000 employees in 38 states.

O’Hair indicated that Medova was being “pushed out” and that July 1 “might be the end.” This date is also when Cloverdale’s employee benefits are set to expire.

O’Hair said that going to Anthem was the “worst-case scenario.” The issue with switching was considerably increasing employees’ deductibles. He emphasized that Medova was in place before EPIC became the town’s agent, but that Medova’s troubles were beyond anyone’s control.

However, Benefit Plan Administrators (BPA) stepped up and tried to match coverages. This entailed a 10-20-percent rate increase which he said was “not that abnormal either.” This was an eight-percent increase over last year for Cloverdale employees.

The deductibles with the BPA plan will be $3,000 per individual and $6,000 per family. It also includes a $5 copay for primary care. Going to a specialist would be $40. While out-of-pocket maximums will go up, O’Hair said preventative care would be covered 100 percent from Day One.

O’Hair also stressed confidence that employees could still connect with their doctors through the Cigna network.

“Honestly, we were relieved when we got this in compared to where we thought we were gonna be,” O’Hair said.

While they would not have paper copies of their ID cards, employees would have a plan number and should have coverage after July 1. O’Hair warned, however, that plans may not be enforceable by then due to “a lot of money” in unpaid claims.

“I know some of this seems a little doom-and-gloom, but this truly is a good solution that I would have not expected here a week-and-a-half, two weeks ago,” O’Hair told the council.

With this, the council moved forward with the insurance with BPA as the provider.

In other business:

• The council approved a recommendation by Water Treatment Manager Richard Saucerman to replace both the pump and the motor for one of the town’s wells for $4,187. Saucerman said the pump was found rusted as the well was being cleaned.

• The council approved replacing the vent on the town’s water tower that lets air in and out as the water level adjusts. Saucerman said it was the improper size. Clerk-Treasurer Kelly Maners said the $7,300 cost could be covered with water depreciation funds.

• The council agreed to replace a homeowner’s water heater for $448.33. Town Manager Jason Hartman said water from a hydrant flushing on Monon Avenue had flooded the homeowner’s basement. The motion was made with Council Vice President Gary Bennington providing that a condition of release be acknowledged.

Council President Rick Dearwester was the only council member absent. Town Attorney Richard Shagley and Town Marshal Steve Hibler were also not in attendance.

Clarification: Going with BPA meant a lower rate increase than if the town would have stuck with Medova.