County Insurance Plan to Be Discussed

Leaders of unions representing county employees expect to present their independent plan for health insurance today to the county Board of Supervisors.

The proposal, outlined in a letter delivered to supervisors Monday, would offer employees a choice of two plans from Blue Cross of California. Union officials say both are cheaper than the plans offered by the county’s current insurer, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., but offer equal benefits.

County managers announced several weeks ago that Met Life’s 1994 employee rates would jump from $146 every two weeks to $206. Union officials then sought bids for cheaper plans.

Under a tight deadline to pick a policy, supervisors met in private for more than two hours Monday discussing the various options. No decision was made, and the board is expected to discuss the issue again today in a closed session.

After the meeting, Supervisor John K. Flynn criticized the county personnel department for not alerting supervisors earlier of the upcoming rate increases and the union’s dissatisfaction.

“They’ve taken too much responsibility upon themselves in this decision,” Flynn said. “Sometimes when the bureaucracy does that, they’re trying to manipulate elected people. And they do that by not allowing enough time to make a decision.”

Flynn further said he believes the issue of choosing the county’s health insurance has become a power struggle between some county administrators and union officials.

“I think there’s some hidden agenda,” he said. “I haven’t gotten my hands on it, but I’ll be snooping around, asking people questions tomorrow.”

Supervisor Maggie Kildee said she was confident the supervisors would have enough information to make their decision soon.