City looking for new healthcare insurer

Aug. 17—Jacksonville officials are working on a new contract after the city's health insurance company said it is ceasing most operations.

It was announced in February that Health Alliance, the city's provider and a subsidiary of Urbana-based Carle Health, will stop all operations except Medicare coverage as of Jan. 1.

Until then, municipal employees still have their current health insurance. Meanwhile, officials are looking for a plan that's as close as possible to the one now in place.

Insurance for city employees' prescriptions, vision and dental won't change, City Clerk Angela Salyer said, noting those insurance providers have said they want to continue their contracts with the city.

A new plan could come with an increase in cost, Salyer said. The city is in talks with three "finalists," she said.

"We should probably have an answer, I would say, sometime mid- to late-September," Salyer said Friday. She said she's confident employees will be able to do their onboarding before the end of the year.

The process is a new one for Salyer, because the city's had the same provider since at least 2007, she said.

"I've never had to deal with something of this magnitude before," she said. "People have their favorite doctors, and we want to make sure that they are able to go to those doctors and not limit them to a certain section of providers."

The city's insurance is self-funded, with the city paying employees' premiums and employees paying for their spouse and dependents, which officials said is supposed to balance out the cost.

During the Aug. 11 meeting of Jacksonville Public Library's board of trustees, library director Jake Magnuson mentioned health insurance when he said budget discussions would be coming up in the next couple of months.

While Magnuson doesn't expect the city's insurance plan to negatively affect greater budgeting around the city, there was some hesitation, he said.

Not knowing how much health insurance will cost makes budgeting difficult, he said.

"I mean, the city is in the same boat as us," Magnuson said. "So, hopefully they'll be getting something figured out."

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