City, county, schools eye insurance deal

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - The city of Crawfordsville, Montgomery County and all its public school corporations have agreed to explore options together to help bring health insurance costs under control, 24-Hour News 8 news partner The Paper of Montgomery County reports .

The Crawfordsville Board of Public Works officials approved the cooperative agreement Wednesday. Officials with the other entities have yet to vote on the contract, but discussions have been ongoing.

As part of the agreement, the group can hire a health insurance consultant for no more than $7,000. Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton told the newspaper the group had several proposals for about $5,000, and a selection may be coming soon.

It’s too soon, he said, to know how much the group could save by the collaborative effort. The consultant’s job in part would be to make sure that all five entities needs were met in any resulting agreement.

"The benefit will be exponential,” Barton said. “Health care costs for our employees is a huge item in our budgets."