By Shelly Baskin
Murray, KY – Murray City employees could pay significantly more in insurance premiums next year than they have in the past. Quotes received by the city Monday show a $400,000 rate increase over last year's plan. Health Insurance Committee Chairman Robert Billington, Jr. says the rise in rates is due to several factors, including unexpectedly high usage of the plan. He says,
"When you look at a renewal you're looking at three things: you're looking at the overall demographics of a groups; then you're gonna take the medical cost of living, which is about 14%; and then you take in the claims, and specifically the ongoing claims, and Anthem came back with a renewal they said y'all have a few ongoing claims, thus the increase in rate."
Billington says those ongoing claims prompt the proposed increase. He says the city has looked to other providers, but only two companies answered the city's request for quotes, both with similar increases. He says the lack of response could have led to the higher quotes because the providers had less competition to bid against. The Health Insurance Committee meets tonight at 6 to look at different proposals from Anthem and NAA before making a final decision.