The health insurance contract back on the agenda for Wilkes-Barre City Council [The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.] – InsuranceNewsNet

October 25—WILKES-BARRE—The $7.8 million the health insurance contract with Highmark is back municipal Council business meeting agenda for further discussion on Tuesday evening.

The Board has asked for more time to review the contract after it was introduced two weeks ago and withdrawn from a subsequent vote at the October 13 public meeting.

The working session begins at 6 p.m. in the fourth-floor chambers of the Council at City hall. The public can attend, but cannot participate in discussions. The working session will be recorded for viewing on the city’s website under City Council Meeting Minutes, https://www.wilkes-barre.city/node/24/minutes.

During the public meeting the mayor George Brown sought to dispel any misconceptions about whether Risk Strategies|Joyce Insurance Group was receiving brokerage fees for negotiating the contract on behalf of the city. He told Council that the city would not pay any fees and that Highmark’s offer was firm. The deal presented to the city was 3% higher than the existing rate, but lower than the 7% increase originally presented by Highmark.

Further, Brown said he was not opposed to the Board asking for more time. But he noted that it cannot be extended for an extended period because the city must have the numbers in place for employees to sign up for coverage during an open enrollment period.

Brown acknowledged that the Board should have approved previous health insurance contracts.

“For 20 years, this was not on the Council’s agenda, so we are correcting something that was wrong,” said Brown, who served on the Council from 2012 to 2016.

The Council will have the possibility of approving infrastructure projects whose cost exceeds $1 million. On the agenda for discussion, the awarding of a contract for work on the walls of the Canal de Race of laurels and Mill Creek at James T. O’Hara Inc. of Township of Covington, the lowest responsible bidder. Projects will be paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Also on the agenda are two ordinances requiring a second and final reading for approval.

The Board has already held the first reading to amend the consumer fireworks section of the existing ordinance to comply with new state law that took effect at the end of this month. september. It also approved the first reading to amend the Public Services Ordinance and repeal the section on listening fees to eliminate duplication of language contained in Building regulations arrangement.

Reach Jerry Lynot at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.

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