The Paducah City Commission approved a municipal order for the 2014 health insurance premiums, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013 at City Hall. The premiums will remain the same as last year. The city is self-insured and uses Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to administer insurance.
Greg Carlton, Senior Vice President with Peel & Holland, who presented the 2014 plan, will recommend the Paducah City Commission approve a provision in the city's 2014 health insurance budget to fight chronic disease.
The provision, which Carlton said would cost between $40,000 and $50,000 in the first year, includes hiring Louisville-based Edumedics to help provide a nurse practitioner to employees, especially those struggling with chronic disease.
"And then in the long term, what we believe will happen is, those individuals will be healthier, happier, have longer lives and they will actually see lower costs and so will the rest of the members of the city," Carlton said.
He said claims for employees with chronic disease are double of those without chronic disease. City spends on average between $2.2 Million and $2.5 Million on medical and drug claims.
In order to keep claims the same, the city assumed more risk on its nearly 600 members insured through the city.
Carlton said through analytics he can track the return on investment for this type of service through similar case studies.
"And we can demonstrate over and over and over that these programs work and the return on investment is substantial," Carlton said.
In other Commission news:
Carla Berry was appointed to the Paducah Riverfront Development Authority board.
An annual $100,000 ordinance was approved to fund the Convention Center Corporation.
