Health insurance costs for City of Decorah workers sparks heated discussion by City Council

The City of Decorah has already renewed its health insurance plan for 2014-2015.  But that didn't prevent a heated debate Monday night over the procedure used to select the city's health insurance plan.

City council member Tade Kerndt said he thought the issue ought to be put to a vote of the full city council each year, rather than allowing the decision to be made administratively.  "It doesn't seem right that city employees get to decide (which plan to pick)," he told fellow council members.

Kerndt's comments came after Midwest Group Benefits spokesperson Brian Huinker pointed out that the city's third-party health insurance administrator sought quotes only from Blue Cross/Blue Shield and not from Covenant Health Care and Coopportunity Health Care.  Huinker called the process "a disservice to our taxpayers."

City council member Gary Rustad agreed with Kerndt that "This needs to be discussed," but Mayor Don Arendt cut off the debate, pointing the health care decision for this year had already been made and the discussion of next year's health insurance coverage ought to be taken up in committee by the city council's Personnel Committee.