County Commissioners review new health insurance policies

BEDFORD — The Lawrence County Board of Commissioners reviewed health insurance proposals during Tuesday morning's meeting at the Lawrence County Courthouse.

Miles Parker from Bedford-based Parker Group, a company offering insurance and employee benefits services, walked the commissioners through two different proposals. The recommendations were brought to the commissioners after Parker held several meetings with the insurance committee.

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"The Insurance Committee met last week and reviewed a number of self-funded options as well as several options on a fully insured platform, which allows you to pay a guaranteed premium," Parker said.

Proposals from IU Health and United Healthcare were assessed to replace the county's existing healthcare provider, Anthem. The IU Health proposal includes a $2.5 million cap, coming out to 47% in savings. United Healthcare's fully insured premium package includes a $3.1 million cap and offers 41% in savings. Each option is expected to help the county save money.

"Anthem has increased the insurance premium as well as expected claim liability, resulting in an increase in max costs from $3.2 million to 4.8 million dollars," Parker said.

Commissioners President Rodney Fish announced the matter would be taken under advisement for further consultation. A vote will be held during the next meeting scheduled on Tuesday, July 5.

"The bad news is we are facing a difficult year. The good news is we have several options that provide significant savings. I appreciate the committee spending so much time with us last week to review everything and make the recommendations," Parker said.

Department reports

Sheriff Mike Branham provided the commissioners with an update on the current jail population. There is a total of 144 inmates, which is 80% capacity. Of that total, 114 are males and 30 are females. There are five convicted Level 6 felons, zero parole holds and 23 Department of Correction holds.

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"They're still pretty slow about getting them (DOC holds) back. But to be honest, as long as we stay under that 144 mark, we're not in any hurry," Branham said. "Our revenue should be up soon from the DOC this year and it will go straight to the county general budget."

The sheriff also confirmed that Gregg Taylor is stepping down from his role as chief deputy. Former Chief Deputy Aaron Shoults has agreed to temporarily return to the role for the rest of the year.

"I have reached out to my previous chief deputy Aaron Shoults, who retired, to see if he would come back for just the six months," Branham said. "It would save me from training somebody else and putting somebody else in that position who is not likely going to stay there after the first couple of years."

Highway Superintendent Brandi Webb informed the commissioners that paving in District 1 is set to continue this week before moving to District 3 next week.

Other business

Program Manager Michelle Carrico from the Southern Indiana Development Commission asked the commissioners to approve the second grant draw of $72,739.60 for the wastewater treatment plant project in Judah. Carrico said about 80% of the project is complete.

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The commissioners also passed ordinance 2022-07 to establish thresholds and internal control standards for reporting financial irregularities. The ordinance has been updated to remain compliant with the State Board of Accounts requirements.

The Lawrence County Veterans Service Office is hosting a flag-raising ceremony and veterans breakfast July 4. Proceedings kick off around 8:30 a.m. before breakfast is served at 9 a.m. Bedford Mayor Sam Craig will be the keynote speaker.