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With the enrollment period ending tomorrow, there has been much talk regarding savings in health insurance costs and how those funds could be used to keep more people employed, especially on the school side where we have eliminated 60+ positions and still have a deficit.  Aside from government savings, what do these health plans offer our employees in terms of care and cost?

For the purposes of simplicity, I will compare some differences between the most-expensive Master Medical (MM) health insurance plan with the least-expensive Blue Cross Blue Shield Network (HMO) currently offered to Lowell employees. The city also offers Blue Cross Blue Shield Preferred (PPO). For a detailed comparison of all three in terms of costs and covered benefits, check here.

The HMO costs an employee about $1200 less annually than the MM for family coverage. The HMO requires a primary care physician and referrals for specialized care while MM does not require referrals but also does not cover any routine visits, such as annual checkups and tests. Any doctor’s visit with the HMO costs the employee a  $5 co-pay while with MM, employees pay 20% of the cost for the visit. With MM, an employee easily could be required to pay $350 for an annual checkup as well as all costs for preventative tests, such as a colonoscopy and gynecological exams, while an HMO employee pays $5 for everything.  For prescription drugs, HMO-covered employees pay $5 per prescription while MM-covered employees pay 20% of the drug’s cost, which also can get very expensive.

Aside from costs and preventative care, which clearly lands in favor of the HMO, some may have concerns regarding the HMO referral process. As a long-time subscriber, thankfully through decades of wellness and routine visits, I can tell you I have never had a problem getting a timely referral for any complaint. Nothing tested this coverage more than last year’s cancer diagnosis for my son, where the HMO coverage was exceptional. Another difference is that MM has no cap on stays in a skilled nursing facility or rehabilitation center, while the HMO provides 100 and 60 days respectively for each calendar year. This, however, does not include hospital stays where both offer complete coverage as needed.

Clearly, changing health insurance is a complicated and personal decision. For my family, the HMO has provided excellent coverage through years of good health and our recent life-threatening diagnosis. The savings to employees and the city are significant, so please examine your options closely. It’s worth a second look.

Who was Ladd; who was Whitney? Why do they have a memorial downtown (the one in front of City Hall)? You can find out tonight at 7 pm, as the Pollard Memorial Library continues its exploration of Lincoln and the Civil War. You will learn how two volunteers from Lowell gave their lives early in the war, galvanizing the Union and “becoming icons for Lowell patriotism.” While at the library, you can visit the traveling Forever Free exhibit, which is there until June 25th. I urge you to look at the murals in Memorial Hall to see depictions of three key events in the Civil War: Fort Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh and the surrender at Appomattox.

Since the Lincoln Reads Lincoln book group meeting on May 26th which I attended, I’ve been immersed in one of the three chosen books, Jay Winik’s April 1865, which is a stirring account of the final days of the war. Winik’s point is that the end of the Civil War could have been much worse than it was, but thanks to the farsightedness and generosity of Lincoln, Grant, Lee and others, the South laid down its arms, turning its back on the temptation of guerilla warfare — a prospect much-dreaded by Lincoln. I’m still reading the book, and am planning to read the other two that were suggested: A. Lincoln, by Ronald C. White, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, by James McPherson. One of my favorite authors, the quirky Sarah Vowell who wrote The Partly Cloudy Patriot once said that she “thinks about the Civil War every day.” Lately, I’ve felt the same way, which feels timely since next year will mark the sesquicentennial of the war (that’s 150 years in case you were wondering or didn’t feel like doing the math).