The Knox City Council learned this week that the General Fund does not have enough money to pay the health premiums through the end of the year. The Council members had to allow a $70,500 transfer from the city’s EDIT fund into the General Fund.
Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston talked about one of the reasons the premium costs have escalated.
“We’ve added several new members to the plan and just by adding one employee and a spouse results in an almost $18,000 increase per year,” reported Houston.
If the cost stayed the same as it is now, the city would be obligated to over $268,000 a year for the health insurance.
“In June of 2010 when the budgets were drawn up by the city, the city share payment was $15,322.10 a month. Now the payment is $22,347.88. That’s a difference of $7,025.78 a month.”
Houston said one of the the new health insurance requirements is that a family member can stay on the policy until age 26. The elimination of the lifetime maximums have also played into the increases.
