120-2001 LTC
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH. FLORlDA,-33-13~' ",' r:
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L.T.C. No..JrlrfJ-d~ I
LETTER TO COMMISSION
June 4, 2001
TO:
Mayor Neisen 0, Kasdin and
Members of the City Commission
FROM:
Jorge M, Gonzalez \ ~
City Manager () I" - U
SUBJECT:
CITIZEN/ST AFF GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE TASK FORCE
For some time the City has struggled with the issue of how best to provide Group Health Insurance
to its employees. Rising costs combined with lower levels of available benefits has challenged the
traditional methods of procuring health care services for the City of Miami Beach, Additionally, the
City has unique City Charter, City Code, and bargaining unit requirements that add complexity to
the issue, In recent years, the City has been through a few separate processes to procure Group
Health Insurance, but has not been satisfied with the outcomes,
The City continues to be challenged by this important issue. As a result, the Finance and Citywide
Projects Committee, at the request of Commissioner Simon Cruz, recommended that a Citizen/Staff
Task Force be formed to examine the issue.
Attached, please fmd a Charter for the Miami Beach Group Health Insurance Task Force, The intent
of the Charter is to define the issue and provide direction to the Task Force, I intend to move
forward with the Task Force as soon as possible and would like the group to begin meeting this
month,
I am available to discuss the issue as questions, comments, or concerns arise,
attachment
JMGrrH
c: Assistant City Managers
Department and Division Directors
Task Force Members
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Miami Beach Group Health Insurance Task Force
On March 2, 2001, Commissioner Simon Cruz wrote a memorandum to City
Manager Jorge M, Gonzalez asking that the establishment of a Citizen/Staff Task Force
on Group Health Insurance be referred to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee,
The matter was referred to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee by the City
Commission at their March 14,2001 meeting, The Finance and Citywide Projects
Committee met on March 20, 2001, and approved the establishment of a Citizen/Staff
Task Force on Group Health Insurance, The Finance and Citywide Projects Committee
recommended their approval in a report to the City Commission on April 18, 200 I,
This document serves as the initial Charter for this Task Force,
Purnose:
Work Product:
ScoDe of Work:
Authoritv:
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( The purpose of the Task Force is to develop a comprehensive
solution that addresses the City's continuing and growing
challenges in the area of group health insurance, This includes the
examination of benefit levels, plan design, cost, coverage, and a
measure of the impact to any adopted changes to the affected
employee and retiree groups.
The Task Force is expected to develop a series of written, viable
alternatives for the design of the City's Group Health Insurance
Program(s) for consideration by the City Manager and the City
Commission, Included with each alternative should be an
explanation of the design, cost, impact to employees and retirees,
advantages, and disadvantages, The Task Force should make and
justify their recommendation of the best available solution.
Recommendations may be split into short-term and long-term
objectives,
The Task Force is limited to an examination of how Group Health
Insurance is provided and to making recommendations for
improving the provision of Group Health Insurance to all City
employees and retirees at a reasonable cost. The Task Force
should take the perspective that the end goal is intended to be in
the best interest of the City - albeit, providing full attention to the
benefits derived from a workforce that is receiving quality health
insurance. The Task Force should be mindful of the Scope of
Work and make every effort to maintain a focus on this important
and complex issue,
The Task Force has the authority to collect information needed to
examine the Scope of Work. City Staff members should make a
concerted effort to attend Task Force meetings and to complete
follow-up and related work between meetings as this is a priority
of the City, Department Directors are requested to provide
employees who are Task Force members a reasonable amount of
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Miami Beach Group Health Insurance Task Force
time and latitude to redirect their efforts towards the completion of
the Scope of Work.
The Task Force is an advisory body and does not have the ability
to make binding decisions.
Lel!al Mandates:
The Task Force must consider and incorporate the legal obligations
contained within the State Statutes, City Charter, City Code,
Collective Bargaining Agreements, Group Insurance Board
regulations, and any other legally binding authority that affects the
City's Group Health Insurance program(s), Alternatives may be
developed and considered for the modification of some or all of the
respective sources of legal requirements, but processes, including
timelines and an estimate of viability should accompany such
alternatives, Task Force representatives from the City's Risk
Management Division will make available copies of the various
legal obligations and will provide the City's interpretation of the
obligations,
Members:
The recommended composition of the Task Force is as follows:
Clifton Leonard, Risk Manager
Mary Greenwood, Labor Relations
Tim Hemstreet, Special Assistant to City Manager
Manager/Professional Operating Department
Manager/Professional Operating Department
FOP Representative
IAFF Representative
GSAF Representative
CW A Representative
AFSME Representative
Jerry (Dee Dee) Weithorn, Budget Advisory Committee
Marc Jacobson, Budget Advisory Committee
Bruce Davidson, Budget Advisory Committee
Buddy Dresner, Group Insurance Board (Retiree)
Roberto Sanchez, Health Care Consultant
Phyllis Miller, Citizen
The membership of the Task Force represents a cross section of
employees and residents. Although each member could be
construed to represent a particular constituency, it is expected that
each member will act in the best interest of the City. Members are
also charged with keeping their individual constituencies up-to-
date with the activities of the Task Force and are encouraged to
pass on the perspectives of those they represent.
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Miami Beach Group Health Insurance Task Force
The Task Force Chair will be appointed by the City Manager.
Risk Management will serve as the primary staff agency that will
provide analytical support and other resources for the Task Force,
The Task Force will be free to assign its members to specific duties
consistent with this charter, if needed, and will also be able to
create subcommittees, or other smaller work groups, to examine
information.
Meetines: The meetings of the Task Force are expected to be open to the
public and their meeting times and places will be posted at least 48
hours prior to commencement, The Task Force will need to
determine the frequency and length of meetings, as well as the
format and types of information to be discussed at the meetings,
The Task Force will keep records of its meetings which will be
open for public inspection,
Point of Contact: The Point of Contact with the City Administration for the Task
Force will be the City Manager, The Task Force Chair is expected
to update the City Manager at least once per month, and more
frequently if significant milestones are reached or significant issues
arise that require guidance, The Task Force will meet with the
City Manager to present the final Work Product and
recommendations, although more frequent meetings can be
arranged through the Task Force Chair or at the request of the City
Manager,
Backeround: The City of Miami Beach employs approximately 1,700
employees, the majority of which live in Miami-Dade and Broward
Counties, The City has approximately 1,300 retired employees, of
which about half live in the South Florida area and the majority of
the other half live in other areas of Florida, There is a small
population of retirees living in other areas of the United States.
The City currently contracts with Humana for the Group Managed
Medical Care, The plan is fully insured and experience rated, The
City has contracted with Humana for the Group Managed Medical
Care since November 1, 1987. The current contract is in effect
through September 30,2001.
The City currently offers Managed Care Medical (PPO), Point of
Service (POS), HMO, and Medicare Supplement Plans, The PPO,
POS, and HMO plans are available to all full-time eligible
employees; all four plans are available to retirees as per City
Ordinance, City Charter specifies that the City and the employee
will split the cost of insurance evenly, meaning City pays 50% of
the premium and the employee pays 50% of the premium.
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Miami Beach Group Health Insurance Task Force
Currently, all General Employees, classified and unclassified, are
covered by one of the three Humana plans unless they waive health
insurance altogether,
Since October 1, 1986, approximately 200 employees (all members
of the fire fighters bargaining unit and some unclassified fire
management employees), have had medical insurance coverage
provided by the Florida Fire Fighters Health Insurance Trust Plan.
Since January 1,1991, approximately 300 employees (all members
of the police officers bargaining unit and some unclassified police
management employees) have had medical insurance coverage
provided by the Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police Health
Trust. In both situations, the health insurance construct is pursuant
to the respective collective bargaining agreement. The City pays
to the respective health trust 90% of its per employee or family
PPO payment.
The City has experienced considerable increases with its Group
Health Insurance rates over the past few years, In response to this
situation, the City has gone out for Bid and for RFP in an effort to
procure more competitive rates for Group Health Insurance, The
City has been unsuccessful in securing a Group Health Insurance
provider that is able to meet the City's needs and cost containment
goals, As a result, the City hired a Broker to assist with plan
design and other activities to identify the best Group Health
Insurance alternatives.
The Task Force is expected to conclude its work within six months
of its inception,
Duration:
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