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Health insurance switch for City-Parish employees, retirees approved despite Hurst holdout
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BATON ROUGE - City-Parish employees and retirees will need to opt in to new medical insurance after the Metro Council voted to switch their plans at a special meeting, a move that some councilmembers believe will save the municipality more than $16 million.
The council voted 11-1 on the measure, with Dist. 5 Councilman Darryl Hurst being the sole "nay" vote.
Hurst was in opposition to the insurance change, saying during the regularly-scheduled meeting on Wednesday night that the new Medicare Advantage plan could leave people with serious medical issues behind.
"Imagine somebody who needs to be on an organ donor list and has to go through a transplant, or somebody who has strong cases of cancer and the plan is not covered," he said.
A special meeting was called due to an inconclusive 6-1 vote and an upcoming insurance enrollment deadline of Oct. 1.
Mayor-President Sid Edwards sent the following statement after the passage:
Today’s vote is a significant step toward strengthening our City-Parish’s financial stability while ensuring we continue to provide quality healthcare for employees and retirees. I want to thank the Metropolitan Council for its decisive action and partnership in this effort. The $16 million in projected savings, combined with the ongoing Thrive EBR initiative, reflects our shared commitment to fiscal responsibility, employee and retiree well-being, and protecting taxpayer dollars. Together, we are taking meaningful action to secure the long-term sustainability of our healthcare program and the services our community depends on.
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