By CHARLES RICHARDS
EParisExtra!
At the request of eParisExtra!, city finance director Gene Anderson explained the City of Paris employee insurance plan.
finance director Gene Anderson
“Well, what the city does, the city budgets a flat amount per employee. And that amount currently is $425 per month. The city offers six different health plans, and the employees can pick whichever they want.
“Now, if you want the one with the broadest, deepest coverage, the $425 doesn’t quite cover the cost. The employee has to pay a few dollars more for that coverage.
“The five other plans actually cost a little under $425. It varies depending on which plan they pick.
“The city pays that premium, whatever it is, and the difference in that premium and $425 goes into a health reimbursement account (HRA) that the employee can use for things that aren’t covered under the plan — such as over-the-counter drugs, or prescriptions that aren’t covered because of the deductible, something like that.
“Now, we also allow, if the employee wants to, instead of putting that money into an HRA for his use, we will allow him to apply that to a dependent’s premium if he has dependents. We have employees who do it both ways.
“Whatever they do is capped at $425. It doesn’t go to the employee. That $425 is health insurance, and we pay it either directly to the premium or put it in their HRA. It’s got to be used for medical.
“The benefit is the same for a single employee as it is for an employee who is married and has five kids. Everyone gets the same $425 a mnth.
“If they pick the Plan 6, for example, and it’s got the lowest premium, it’s also got the higher deductible, a higher out-of-pocket, and they’re just bearing part of the risk.”
—
send comments about this article to
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
follow: RSS
