scottw@standard-democrat.com
CHARLESTON -- Mississippi County's health insurance agent has come up with a plan the County Commission thinks they can live with for the next year.
"We believe we have arrived at a solution for everyone," said Carlin Bennett, presiding commissioner, during the regular County Commission meeting held Wednesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
While options initially appeared to be either the county paying $830,000 per year in premiums or to stop providing health insurance to employees, Charley Tinsley of the Thompson Insurance Group in Charleston came up with a third option, according to Bennett, which is to "write everyone an individual plan."
Bennett said the county will pay the full premium for a base health insurance plan through Coventry Insurance written for the employee or county elected officials as an individual which they may opt to upgrade at their own cost.
The base plan the county will pay for "will cover the employee only," he said.
The good news for employees and elected officials is these individual plans offer "the same effective coverages we have now," Bennett said.
For the complete article and more local news stories, see the Nov. 29 edition of the Standard Democrat. For the electronic edition click here to log on. Happy Thanksgiving!