By DANIEL SUDDEATH
Daniel.Suddeath@newsandtribune.com
NEW ALBANY —
The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety approved Tuesday an incentive package with hopes of inducing a lion’s share of city workers to a new insurance plan.
Employees paying for single coverage would receive $500 and workers paying for a spouse, children or family plan would have $1,000 deposited into their Health Savings Account, or HSA, Jan. 1.
The measure passed by the board provides the payment only for 2011, with administration officials touting New Albany could still save about $450,000 next year even with the incentives if 75 percent of workers sign-up for a HSA.
“It’s going to be told [to employees] that this is a one-time deal,” City Attorney Shane Gibson said.
He estimated the HSA stipends would cost the city about $260,000, adding the future financial solvency for New Albany’s public municipal sector relies heavily on the new insurance offering.
Administration officials have lauded the HSA option as a means to bringing New Albany’s general fund back into the positive by 2012, as the City Council continues to weigh solutions to the anticipated $1.8 million shortfall in the public safety departments this year.
Employees can switch to the HSA option now, but the goal is to do more education on the coverage and get a vast majority of workers to sign-up for a Jan. 1 start date.
Edward Culpepper Cooper, the city’s insurance agent of Maverick Insurance, added that more traditional plans will still be available for workers.
HSA requires participants to pay into their account up to their annual deductible amount, then their medical expenses are covered for the rest of the year.
“It’s proven that people take more control of their health care costs” on an HSA plan, Cooper said.
