Hobart city insurance cost

Increase in the city health insurance coverage payment have prompted the Hobart City Council to pass the cost to the 210 workers on the city payroll.

Out-of-pocket deductibles will increase along with monthly insurance premiums for most city employees, said Councilman Brian Rosenbaum, who is chairman of the city's Insurance Committee.

And the city's health insurance coverage policies will no longer cover the working spouses who are eligible to obtain insurance coverage from their employer.

Mayor Brian Snedecor said Hobart's insurance costs have exceeded the $1.6 million budgeted for 2009 by $300,000.

He anticipates that in 2010 the insurance cost will increase to $2.1 million.

The council on Wednesday approved the health insurance hikes on a 6-1 vote. Councilman Matthew Claussen cast the dissenting vote.

Claussen said he understood the increases but doesn't like them.

"Obviously something happened that caused our costs to go up," he said, noting that employee contributions were raised from $2 to $50 a month last year.

Ninety percent of city employees are covered by a preferred provider organization.

Single workers will see their deductible jump from $250 to $750 a year. Employees with a family of three will see their deductible raise from $750 to 2,250 a year, said Dennis Bautista, vice president of the Horton Group, the city's insurance broker.

Under the PPO plan monthly employee contributions will range from $50 to $200.

A small group of workers covered by a health savings plan will continue to pay just $2 a month.

However, their yearly deductible will be $2,500.

Despite the hikes, Rosenbaum said the city's still offers good health insurance plans that are competitive with those offered by private employers in the area.