Each year since 2011 our Board has had to choose one of three medical insurance funding options open to them under the rather strange Michigan Public Act 152 of 2011.
Option #1 – “Hardcap” option – Fund employee medical insurance at a certain maximum dollar maximun set each year by the state based on inflation, originally set at $5,500 for individuals, $10,000 for couples or $15,000 for families
Option #2 – Fund 80% of costs while employee funds 20%
Option #3 – Fund more, up to 100% of employee medical costs. Commonly known as “opting out”.
Our Board has always chosen Option #3, “opt-out”, and provides a very signficant portion of medical insurance costs. There has been, to my recollection, little to no public discussion before these annual votes.
This year is different. After a presentation on medical care policy options, that focused only on the contents of the insurance plans and no comparison of the three funding options, no one on the Board made a motion to “opt-out”. (The slides used in the presentation can be seen at pages 90-105 in the July 13 meeting packet that can be accessed in our post on that meeting below.) Instead, led by John Giannangeli, they chose to get more information on what the other two options would mean for township funding and employee cost. They intend to discuss this at the August 10th meeting and will likely vote then to choose one of the three options.
I support making this decision having full knowledge of the comparsion of the three options for impact on cost to both employees and the township. I would also ask the Township Administration, if I were a Board member, to provide comparisions to other municipalities with whom we compete for qualified employees.
Public Act 152 of 2011, 4 pages
http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-Act-152-of-2011
Oakland Township Sentinel 