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<br />e <br /> <br />At the employee meetings, the employees were updated on what has been <br />done so far in order to address this issue. In addition, some employee options <br />and Council options were discussed. The second attachment highlights the <br />options that were discussed. Some Councilmembers may recall that some of <br />these issues such as a cafeteria plan, reimbursement for insurance provided <br />by a spouse, and other requests have come before the Council previously. To <br />this date, the Council has not agreed to providing any of those options. This <br />is an appropriate time for the Council to review the options available to help <br />employees deal with an issue which is, for the most part, out of their control. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />In addition, to give the Council some background information on what other <br />cities are doing in regard to health insurance, several cities were surveyed. <br />The third attachment to this memo, entitled Health Care Coverage <br />Comparison, shows the results of this survey. For the most part, employees <br />electing single coverage are not required to make any contribution for health <br />insurance. The highest employee contribution for family coverage, excluding <br />the City of Elk River, is $208.35 in Blaine for their Med Center plan. The <br />city contribution for family coverage ranges from $230.00 in Coon Rapids to <br />$415.36 in St. Cloud. The City of Elk River currently contributes $280.00 for <br />health, life, and dental insurance. After subtracting the dental and life <br />insurance premiums, $252.12 are available for health insurance. The final <br />column of the comparison indicates whether or not the city offers a cafeteria <br />plan or other insurance options. Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids, and Ramsey <br />have cafeteria plans whereby each employee receives the equivalent dollar <br />amount each month to be used on a given package of items. Champlin allows <br />reimbursement in cash to employees if they prove that they have health and <br />dental coverage elsewhere. Fridley allows employees not using their <br />maximum amount to apply the difference toward dental and life insurance, <br />and Maple Grove has a unique program whereby it pays $25.00 per month as <br />a match into deferred comp for employees not electing family coverage if they <br />choose not to purchase supplemental life insurance or use it as a pre-tax item <br />for medical expenses. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Finally, state law requires that insurance for groups in excess of 25 members <br />be competitively bid. An ad will be in the Star News on June 29 requesting <br />quotes for the City's group health insurance. Bids will be received until July <br />19. At that time, bids will be reviewed and additional information will be <br />presented to the Council. In the meantime, an insurance advisory committee <br />may be formed which would have representation from each department and <br />include a cross-section of both family and single coverage employees. This <br />advisory committee would assist by reviewing the bids and identifying <br />possible alternatives for insurance benefits. The advisory committee would <br />also be responsible for relaying information back to its department and <br />voicing the opinion of the employees. Of course any change in benefits for <br />union employees would need to be approved by a majority vote of the union <br />