Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Employee claims rise from January to February
DAVENPORT—The Lincoln County Commissioners held a regular benefits check-in with representatives amongst county employees and Dan Fisher of HUB International, the county’s medical insurance broker, at the commissioners’ meeting Monday, March 7.
Fisher told attendees that employee claims rose from $43,816.02 to $84,971.15 between January and February this year, which is typical. Claims were also higher in 2021 than they were in 2020 as more people returned to in-person work following COVID-19 shutdowns.
The commissioners said the meeting wasn’t to raise any concerns about increased employee claims, but to offer their employees a regular check-in about their medical benefits since the county switched to HMA Benefits Jan. 1 as a self-funded insurance program for its employees.
It’s a system the commissioners say has worked very well over the years. The switch to HMA Benefits came at HUB International’s recommendation.
Deputy Luke Mallon of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office used the meeting to ask whether the county would cover a membership to Airlift Northwest’s new air ambulance service coming to Davenport this summer since a membership to LifeLight wouldn’t cross over.
Commissioner Rob Coffman said that was a concern he had when he heard about Airlift Northwest’s move, saying a patient could be hit with a substantial hospital bill if they only have one membership and the “wrong” helicopter shows up or a patient isn’t able to communicate which membership they have in an emergency situation.
In a recent interview with The Record-Times, Lincoln Hospital communications director Carey Guhlke-Falk said locals should consider buying annual memberships for both services to avoid this issue.
The commissioners will next convene Monday, March 21 at 8 a.m.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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