10/13/07 - County opts to retain health administrator

Switch to different company to manage health insurance claims opposed by unions.

(As Published by Cortland Standard, Corey Preston reporting)

Cortland County’s Personnel Committee decided Thursday to stick with the current health insurance administrator for county employees, turning down $125,000 in savings.

The decision was made because of a lack of support from the unions and the potential for unseen costs and administrative burdens.

The committee had been told last month that a switch from current third-party administrator RMSCO to a similar company called POMCO could save the county $125,000 for administering the county’s health plan to the roughly 750 families and individuals enrolled in the plan.

The committee was tempted by the savings, but County Administrator Scott Schrader warned that POMCO is an accepted administrator at fewer doctors than RMSCO, and that the change could cause headaches similar to those experienced when the county switched to RMSCO three years ago.

Schrader told the committee Thursday that three of the county employee unions — the Civil Service Employees Union, the Nurse’s Association and the Deputy Sheriff’s union — had all responded negatively to the proposed switch.

Schrader said the county has the right to change plans, but the unions would have a case that the change would have a negative impact for the employees who receive treatment from the doctors who do not accept POMCO.

Of the health care providers used most often by county employees, 89 percent accept RMSCO while only 79 percent accept POMCO.

“We could negotiate with those individuals (to pay for their doctors), but that just erodes into the savings,” Schrader said, adding that the change could potentially prompt legal action from the unions.

Furthermore, the change would almost certainly include glitches, Schrader said, noting that when the county switched to RMSCO from Blue Cross/Blue Shield, there was a change in the way RMSCO administered the county’s health plan, which resulted in administrative difficulties and coverage problems for employees.

“There will be instances where the procedures (of POMCO) will be different (from RMSCO),” Schrader said.

Committee members noted that they had heard a lot of negative feedback to the potential switch.

“I feel that what we did three years ago, it’s finally up and running smoothly now, why change it and put the employees through it,” said Committee Chairman Larry Cornell (R-Marathon and Lapeer).