9/14/07 - County faces choice on health insurance administrator

(As published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

The county is weighing whether to stay with its current health insurance administrator, which is accepted by more health care providers, or switch to a new one, which offers an annual overall savings.

The county Personnel Committee was presented Thursday with five responses to a request for proposals for a third-party administrator, the company that administers the health insurance plan for county employees and retirees.

Along with a proposal from the county’s current health administrator, RMSCO, the only other viable proposal, according to the Syracuse-based Benefit Consulting Group Inc., came from a company called POMCO.

POMCO submitted a $707,968 proposal for a three-year agreement, which is $122,000 less annually than RMSCO’s $829,859 proposal, County Administrator Scott Schrader told the committee.

RMSCO is accepted by approximately 89 percent of the top health care providers used by county employees, Schrader said, while POMCO’s network includes 79 percent of the those providers.

Additionally, making a switch to POMCO could bring significant administrative burden, Schrader and County Personnel Director Annette Barber agreed, as the approximately 750 individuals and families receiving health insurance through the county would have to be re-enrolled, and there could be glitches or changes in the administration of the plan.

For instance, when the county began using RMSCO in 2004, the company was more adherent to the county’s outlined coverage guidelines than the previous provider, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and the result was some county employees not getting the coverage they had received previously.

“The transition to RMSCO is over,” Barber said.

Barber, when asked which company she preferred, said she understood the interest in saving money, but she felt the county should continue with RMSCO to avoid administrative problems and hassles for county employees.