Sam Page bypasses St. Louis County Council on big health insurance contract

Sam Page attends first county council meeting as county executive

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page pours water for council member Ernie Trakas as fellow council member Lisa Clancy looks on during Page's first county council meeting as county executive on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.

CLAYTON — St. Louis County Executive Sam Page’s administration is bypassing the St. Louis County Council to ink a major contract with a new health benefits administrator, arguing the move is necessary to ensure there was no disruption to employee health insurance.

With open enrollment for St. Louis County’s roughly 4,500 employees scheduled to begin Aug. 15, Page has warned since earlier this month that time was running out for the County Council to enter into a new contract with United Healthcare.

The county’s procurement division early last month recommended United Healthcare over the county’s current health benefit administrator, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Missouri, which has held the county contract since 2017. Anthem immediately protested, claiming the bidding process was full of “irregularities” and that United Healthcare would end up costing the county as much as $6 million more, a figure that United Healthcare disputes.

A committee hearing had been scheduled for Aug. 13, where the council intended to question why the county procurement staff scored United Healthcare’s bid higher than Anthem. That meeting was just two days prior to the start of open enrollment for the new benefit period that runs Oct. 1 through September 2025. Page and most of the council last week urged County Council Chair Shalonda Webb to move the hearing up so the council could make a decision on the contract with enough time for staff to prepare for enrollment.

Last week, the committee hearing was rescheduled for Monday, July 29. But that wasn’t soon enough for Page. In a letter to the council Monday, he said an “emergency” contract with United Healthcare for one year “will ensure that there is no interruption in healthcare service for our employees,” a move his administration had warned was a possibility last week.

“After a two-month delay by the council, there is no guarantee a vote would occur July 30,” Page spokesman Doug Moore said in a text. “The procurement director warned that she needed ample time to execute a contract, notify employees and get materials prepared for open enrollment. We cannot leave our employees in limbo.”

Page found few defenders on the council.

“I guess we’re bound and determined United Healthcare is going to be the next service provider,” said Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Fenton Republican. “This is another example of the county executive making decisions without talking to anybody on the council.”

Rita Days, a Bel-Nor councilwoman and, like Page, a Democrat, said there was “no emergency.”

“This is a classic example of disrespecting the employees and the council,” Days said in a text message. “Will it cost more money? We don’t know. Will the services be better? We don’t know.”

Even County Councilman Ernie Trakas, a south St. Louis County Republican who has been part of a Page-friendly voting bloc over the years, said the move “confirms that there is some chicanery going on here.” While Trakas, who is facing an opponent in the Republican primary next month who accuses him of being too close to Page, said the council bears responsibility for not scheduling a hearing “weeks ago,” he also said Page’s tactics pressuring the council into a quick decision were “uncalled for.”

“The fact that the County Executive is now ramrodding this through when he knows that the council has scheduled a hearing certainly raises the question of what’s being hidden here,” Trakas said. “There’s no need for this action and the fact that it’s taking place would give anyone pause.”

Webb, the council chair, said she had moved around meetings in order to make the health insurance contract “a priority” and said she wanted to “go through the process properly.” She questioned Page’s legal rationale for claiming the health benefit contract was an emergency.

“I don’t clearly know what he is standing on to say this is a state of emergency,” Webb said.

Anthem has vigorously contested the county’s move to transfer employees to a health plan administered by United Healthcare. Anthem filed a protest that the county rejected, and it has also sent its top Missouri executive to speak at weekly council meetings.

Council members have also received hundreds of messages, all with the same wording, urging them to vote against the United Healthcare contract. Anthem said the messages originated from Health Action Network, which is part of Elevance Health, Anthem’s parent.

An Anthem spokeswoman did not immediately comment on the county’s announcement.

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Opponents to a controversial new health insurance plan said Page's request isn't an "emergency," and that the council should examine why the county would choose a contract that costs more.

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The county also unfairly changed its evaluation metrics in the middle of the bidding process, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield claims.

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View life in St. Louis the week of July 14, 2024

View life in St. Louis through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.

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