Polo makes health care switch

POLO – Count this city among the few to actually save money on health insurance.

The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to dump Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois in favor of Humana as the health insurance provider for its 10 full-time employees who are enrolled.

The move will save City Hall an estimated $123 a month on its $8,835 bill, plus Humana chipped in life insurance and disability.

Altogether, employees will be eligible for health, dental, life and disability insurance through the new plan.

While marginal, the savings felt much greater to a council that was facing a proposed 22 percent increase from Blue Cross, said Susie Corbitt, Polo’s city clerk.

“It was just too high for us, so we went looking around,” Corbitt said. Humana came in with the lowest offer from among four other bidders, she said.

Coverage with Humana starts in October, although the council authorized its first payment of $8,835 Tuesday for the upcoming month.

Employee benefits are essentially the same as those Blue Cross offered, only with a much lower cost, Corbitt Said.

Monthly payments may change as employees come and go, and add or crop dependents from their insurance plans.