Days after a council member torpedoed the same vote, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council approved an insurance plan switch Monday that members hope will save the city-parish between $16 million to $19 million annually.
Last Wednesday, Darryl Hurst’s council colleagues ripped into him when he used his lone dissenting vote to kill an initiative to switch city employee and retiree health plans. Only seven members were in attendance, the same number of members it takes to pass a measure on the 12-person council.
On Monday, Hurst again was the only member to vote against the measure, as it passed 11-1.
Hurst said he is concerned that employees would be forced to switch specialists for medical coverage. He gave an example of someone battling cancer with nontraditional treatments that only one doctor performs.
“And if that specialist is not on the (new plan), then somebody’s life-saving techniques have now gone by the wayside,” Hurst said.
City-parish attorneys, insurance consultants and council members have said that current employees and retirees may choose to opt out of the change.
In a statement following the council’s approval Monday, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards called the new plan a significant step toward strengthening the city-parish’s finances, while also making sure employees and retirees get quality health care.
“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,” Edwards said. “Together, we are taking meaningful action to secure the long-term sustainability of our health care program and the services our community depends on.”
Last week, four council Democrats — Cleve Dunn Jr., Twahna Harris, Anthony Kenney and Carolyn Coleman — were in Washington D.C. at a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus, while Republican Mayor Pro Tempore Brandon Noel was traveling for a relative’s wedding, which is why the single dissenting vote held more power than normal.
Following the approval on Monday, Dunn said he and Coleman requested last week’s meeting be canceled due to members being gone, but the meeting still went forward.