Clear Lake council approves changing city employee health insurance provider

CLEAR LAKE — Clear Lake’s City Council has approved changing providers for the city employees’ health insurance benefit offerings. 

Acting city administrator Jacob Widman says after continued increases with the city’s current provider Wellmark, it was time to make a change.  “Wellmark’s increase was another 9.38% over what our current rates are. We priced it out with multiple other carriers. The carrier that we liked their proposal the best was United Healthcare. Their proposal was 36% lower than what the Wellmark renewal was. Quite a bit of savings there on the city’s side from being able to switch from Wellmark to United Healthcare for the health insurance for the employees.”

Widman says the savings will be passed along through an increased employer health savings account contribution and adding an employer cost share to the monthly dental premiums.  “As part of that savings, we didn’t want it to just be for the city, but we also wanted to pass it on to the employees, because there will be a slight change with going from Wellmark. Everybody’s been comfortable with Wellmark, we’ve been with Wellmark for a number of years, and then going to United Healthcare. United Healthcare is a very strong insurance company. They’re one of the top insurance companies in the nation, so it will be very good insurance for the employees.”

The changes will take place with the start of the city’s new fiscal year on July 1st.