The Starke County Commissioners during their regular meeting yesterday morning approved a motion to adopt a new health insurance plan with Anthem, dropping their previous contract with Cigna. Debbie Rykovich and Holly Horan approached the commissioners and explained that Signa provided a third proposal at their request and told the commissioners that they need to decide whether to renew Cigna or take the core option from Anthem. In addition, the commissioners were faced with the choice of whether or not to offer plan options.
The plan offered by Anthem offered a number of benefits, primarily the savings of $20,000 compared to the additional expense of roughly $168,000 that would have been incurred had the commissioners chosen Cigna. Commissioner Kathy Norem said switching to Anthem would be benficial not only because of the significant savings, but also because Anthem has a larger physician network and, according to Norem, they do a better job of leveraging fees.
Norem said she was interested in offering multiple plans from Anthem, but ultimately changed her mind. Commissioner Jennifer Davis made a motion to adopt the core Anthem plan with a health reimbursement arrangement and no dual options. Commissioner Kent Danford seconded the motion and it passed with none opposed.
