'Lied to': Kane County Board majority sticks with Blue Cross
Citing lies and a "culture of disrespect" laced into a push to dump Blue Cross and Blue Shield as the health insurance provider for Kane County employees, board members voted to stick with the state's largest insurer Tuesday.
The decision is a win for five groups of county employees represented by the AFSCME union. All the county's unions are either on strike or in the middle of negotiating new contracts. AFSCME representatives promised to file an unfair labor practice claim against the county if the board switched insurers.
An hourlong closed-door county board meeting Tuesday was supposed to be about the union's threat. But board members who voted to stay with Blue Cross focused solely on the threats and promises made by their colleagues who favored a one-year contract with Aetna.
Board member Susan Starrett said there was a deliberate effort to mislead the majority of the board with bogus figures about the costs of staying with Blue Cross versus the potential savings switching to Aetna could bring.
The majority of the board believed Blue Cross would raise insurance costs by 12.3 percent for employees. But a representative from Blue Cross appeared at the meeting to tell board members that wasn't true. The actual increase quoted to the county was only 6.38 percent. In real dollars, that's a difference of about $1 million.
"That's a lot of money," Starrett said. "Every note I have, every detail I have so far is actually incorrect. And there are people who knew about this well before our previous meeting. They felt they should not tell board members that it is actually not that much of an increase in price. I don't care to be lied to. For those of you who sat on your hands, shame on you. It's ridiculous. If you want something done, fine. But don't lie about it."
The vote was 13-8 in favor of Blue Cross, with Barb Wojnicki and Deb Allan voting "present."
County board Chairman Chris Lauzen placed a target on Blue Cross in late 2014 when he labeled the $15 million annual cost of the provider's plan as a threat to his desire to keep the county's property tax flat. He wanted Blue Cross to divert the discounts and refunds county employees get in the self-funded PPO to go back to Kane County. That didn't happen. So he directed county board member Bill Lenert to explore a change in insurance providers.
Lenert said the numbers show a potential savings of $1.6 million if the county's health insurance claims followed recent patterns.
"What this came down to is truly an economic decision," Lenert said. "If we have the potential to save $1.6 million, this would go a long way to solving our other needs."
Board member Monica Silva said what the board needs is trust.
"I feel I have not been afforded the truth," she said. "There is a culture of disrespect here. We need to trust each other. Right now, I don't feel I've been given enough information to trust that we will have savings."
Several board members pointed to the money already placed in the budget to pay for the insurance cost increase Blue Cross quoted. Lauzen dismissed the insurance budget as a factor in the decision.
"The argument that something is in a budget and we have to spend it is really bureaucratic thinking at its worst," he said. "It would be my intention to not affix my name to this (contract) extension. The board's legal representatives can take responsibility for this."