As of yesterday, city employees are now covered by the state’s health insurance plan, in a move that is expected to save the city $1 million per year.
Previously, all full-time city employees were insured by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, city manager Terence Reidy said. The new benefits are “very similar,” Reidy said, although some areas have slightly more or slightly fewer benefits.
“It’s a very solid and respectable plan,” Reidy said of the state system.
Moving to the state program was “a huge goal” for the city, Reidy said. Municipalities and school districts throughout the state are on the plan, he added, as are state employees. The large number of organizations covered by the plan aids with savings on premiums, he said.
The city’s union leaders have been “extremely cooperative” when navigating the switch, Reidy said. The city could not move to state health benefits until all of the workers’ contracts had expired, Reidy said. Union contracts are currently under negotiation.
