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Local governments save on employee health insurance costs

Local governments save on employee health insurance costs
Office of the State Comptroller Press Release

Looking to help local governments cut expenses and stretch tax dollars, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released a report on June 11, 2009 that provides suggestions to reduce or contain costs, including the costs of employee health care programs provided to employees by local governments. The report highlights what several local governments are already doing across New York to address the increasing costs of employee health insurance plans.

The report includes the following savings and cost reduction strategies:

Payments in Lieu of Health Insurance Benefits ? DiNapoli?s office released an audit report in January regarding local governments who use a health insurance buyback program. Five local governments together saved more than $4 million over a three-year period.

Medicaid Fraud Detection ? Some larger counties have invested in Medicaid fraud detection software, which provides information on specific Medicaid cases and identifies anomalies, helping them recoup millions of dollars. Onondaga County indicated it saved taxpayers more than $1.8 million in the first seven months of 2008. Chemung County also reported saving more than $1 million in social service expenses.

Co-Pay Rebate Program ? A DiNapoli audit on containing the cost of health insurance benefits highlights how Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) saved as much as $470,000 on health insurance premiums in 2006.

The report is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/costsavingcontainment.pdf

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on June 11, 2009 (boomark / email).