 |
A second option for saving money on health insurance for the Town of Natick and our employees is to offer only the Rate Saver plans from the West Suburban Health Group (WSHG). These plans, which have been offered for a couple of years now by the Town of Natick, provide lower premium costs for employees and the Town. As with the GIC, however, the lower premium costs are attainable due to higher co-payments for doctor's visits and prescription drugs.
Preliminary analysis suggests that this option would produce considerable savings. Specifically, the overall savings, as compared to current health insurance premiums, would be over $2 million, with the Town’s savings being approximately $1.6 million and employees’ savings being approximately $400,000. As with the GIC option, with this savings the Town could consider some cost-effective enhancements to the employees’ benefits options. However, there are more options in this regard with the Rate Savers than with the GIC, as the GIC restricts certain methods of offsetting the impact of higher co-payments.
To see information about current Rate Saver plans (FY 2010) and how they compare to the current plans offered by WSHG, please click here.
For detailed comparisons between current WSHG plans, Rate Saver plans and the GIC, please click on a link below.
| |
