LETTERS: Transparency in Niles schools? Cheers and jeers for Trump, GOP

Where is transparency in Niles City Schools? I am a proud grad- uate of Niles City Schools and president/broker of Association Group Insurance Agency Inc. Our agency has been the agent of record for the Niles school district Anthem Blue Cross plan from 2004 to September 2018 except for one year in that time span. I have read on social media with great bewilderment how the Niles schools administration states that the Anthem Blue Cross plan has not been shopped in the marketplace of insurance carriers in over five years; that is false. Our office has shopped the district’s Anthem plan many times over the years, the latest was for the 2017-18 renewal period. We have shopped the plan with Aetna, Medical Mutual of Ohio and United Healthcare. United Healthcare came back to the table with a $310,000-plus savings off the Anthem Blue Cross Renewal Proposal. The administration at that time asked our office to ask Anthem Blue Cross if it would match United Healthcare’s offer to remain with Anthem Blue Cross for another year. The feeling was it would be better for the employees of the school system to remain with Anthem Blue Cross preventing any disruption of PPO network of doctors, hospitals, providers, prescription drug lists, etc. Anthem agreed to match United Healthcare’s proposal and the district remained with Anthem Blue Cross for another contract year. Secondly, the current administration has been quoted as saying that Anthem Blue Cross will not offer a four-tier premium system (i.e. employee, employee child or children and family premium pricing schedule). This is another misstatement. Our agency, along with Anthem Blue Cross, had provided Niles schools with this important information in the May 2017 renewal period. In closing, our local agency has been in the health insurance/employee benefits profession since 1984 – 35 years. We

Read more from our friends at the NRA...