EDITORIAL: Natchez aldermen should reconsider insurance decision

Sept. 30--Much fussing has been made of late over the City of Natchez's decision to quickly renew a health insurance contract with the city's existing provider.

A competing provider claimed their own proposal could save the city approximately $900,000 in annual premiums.

Aldermen didn't bother spending any time to really find out if that claim was true.

That err in fiscal judgment and lapse in prudence is a shame.

But what is a real tragedy is that the city's leadership team did not already know about problems employees covered by the city's health care insurance claim to have been having.

The problems were so bad that a number of city employees signed a petition urging the city's aldermen to find another insurance option.

Most city workers are not paid well. They do their work out of a sense of civic pride and the hope of a plum retirement plan if they can get their years of service into the system.

But the last thing they need is subpar health insurance, which many of the city's employees seem to think they have now.

We urge the city to reconsider their decision and use the advice of professionals who can help guide them through the nuances of selecting a health insurance provider.

To simply continue with the status quo and expect different results is a prescription for failure.

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(c)2016 The Natchez Democrat (Natchez, Miss.)

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