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Insurance main topic of discussion in special-called City Council meeting

After a lengthy three-hour work session, the Morgantown City Council met in a special called meeting Thursday night.  Selected city budget issues were on the agenda.
 
Council member Russell Givens moved to amend the City Employee Personnel Policy Manual to require spouses of city employees to use their health insurance as primary when the spouse is covered at his/her place of employment.  The Council approved the requirement.
 
The Council addressed the city’s employee health insurance plan for the next fiscal year, which they had discussed at length during the work session.  Council member Terrell House moved to adopt an alternative plan which would change pharmacy co-pays to 10 percent of the cost of the drug instead of the 10-30-50 co-pay system currently used.  The alternative promises to save the city money over the current plan.  The Council voted to approve the alternative health insurance plan.
 
Givens moved to offer the 3 percent incentive pay for the upcoming fiscal year, the same as is currently available.  The Council approved the renewal of the onetime annual payment.
 
House moved to give city employees a 2 percent cost of living increase.  The motion died for lack of a second.  Givens moved to postpone the cost of living increase vote to get figures on how much such an increase would cost the city.  The Council agreed to postpone the vote and contact Embry and Watts for the cost figures.
 
In other actions, the Council approved the appointment of Valarie Tarrance to the Board of Adjustments as recommended by Mayor Linda Keown.  The Council did not act on the city’s contract with the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce for economic developer Maureen Carpenter since attorneys were still reviewing the contract.

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Comments

All the hoopla over the councils wages last year and now they make a cut overlooking the hoopla over the overpaid mayor? Another day for Butler county politics when the former mayor was crucified over her enormous pay package and this year not a peep out of all the meek council and meek residents of Morgantown, guess they have plenty of money to waste on a figurehead job that could be filled by a 6th grader on spring break!
Everybody realizes that it's not up to the policy owner who's primary & who's secondary, right?? I mean, it's either lie about having secondary insurance, or the primary insurance holder is whichever's spouse's birth month comes first. Perhaps the Morgantown City Council could look into the legalities of their "ideas" in the future. At a minimum, before voting them in as policy.
Ms. Johnson is right that it is not up to the policy holder as to who's insurance is the primary and secondary insurance. There are no laws to determine this issue but it is only coordinated by established industry rules that insurers follows. Her comment about the primary insurance holder being whichever spouse's birth month comes first does not apply to primary and secondary insurance for spouses. If a person is covered by their own insurance policy either through their employer or privately purchased, this is their primary insurance. If a spouse is covered on another person's insurance, this is their secondary insurance. The comment she made about the birth month is actually the birthdate and pertains to dependent children. The primary insurance is that of the parent whose birthdate comes first and if both parent's birthdate falls on the same day, the one that has had the insurance the longest is the primary insurance provider. The birth year is not a factor. So maybe the City of Morgantown did look into this issue and only voted on it in order to place it in their personnel policy so that all employees would have a full understanding that a spouse's insurance is their primary insurance and should be used as such.


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