Colfax gives go-ahead to pursue WEA Trust health insurance for employees
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has approved moving forward with WEA Trust health insurance for village employees.
WEA Insurance Trust currently is working on finding underwriters in order to make a decision as to whether to accept Colfax as a group, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, at the Colfax Village Board’s April 11 meeting.
Representatives for the WEA Trust, which is based out of Madison, were willing to come to a village board meeting, but Niggemann said she had contacted them on short notice so it was not possible to have someone at the April 11 meeting.
Existing health insurance for Colfax employees is provided through Medica Insurance.
The monthly cost for WEA Trust insurance would be nearly $800 less than Medica, amounting to a difference of about $10,000 annually.
According to information Niggemann provided to the village board, WEA Trust insurance would cost $7,571.04 per month, compared to Medica at $8,380.32 per month.
The WEA Trust insurance would be health savings account compatible (HSA) while Medica would not be health savings account compatible.
Under WEA Trust, individual deductibles in the network would be $2,000, and individual deductibles out of the network would be $4,000.
The family deductible for WEA Trust would be $4,000 in the network and $8,000 out of the network.
Individual deductibles for Medica would be $2,500 in the network and would be $3,750 out of the network.
The family deductible for Medica would be $5,000 in the network and $9,900 out of the network.
The WEA Trust deductibles are non-embedded, while the Medica deductibles are embedded. An embedded deductible is a system that combines individual and family deductibles.
Co-pays for WEA Trust are 100 percent or 80 percent.
Co-pays for Medica are 30 percent or 50 percent.
The maximum out of pocket for WEA Trust is $2,000 or $6,000 for an individual, or $4,000 or $12,000 for a family.
Maximum out of pocket for Medica is $6,350 or $9,000 for an individual, or $12,700 or $9,000 for a family.
The Medica insurance also requires office and prescription co-pays of $50 and $12 for an individual, or $50 and $90 for a family.
The Colfax Village Board approved a motion to move forward with pursuing WEA Insurance Trust health insurance.
If WEA Trust will not insure Colfax employees, then the village board also gave Niggemann approval to pursue Medica health insurance.
The WEA Trust health insurance is equivalent to what Colfax is currently paying for Medica and is less than the amount budgeted for health insurance for 2016, Niggemann said.
WEA Trust was founded in 1970 by the Wisconsin Education Association Council and insures public employees and their families.
Mower
The Colfax Village Board also approved at the April 11 meeting the purchase of a boom mower for $10,777 from Tractor Central out of Menomonie.
The mower is described on information provided to the village board as “the preferred choice of experienced operators for the mowing of pond banks, levees, drainage ditches and hard-to-reach areas.”
The existing mower is “almost shot,” said Rand Bates, director of public works.
The mower is a budgeted item, and the cost will be split between the wastewater budget and the parks budget, Niggemann said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved purchasing the mower at a cost of $10,777.
Other business
In other business, from the administrator-clerk-treasurer’s report, the Colfax Village Board:
• Learned that the expected start date for work on the Tower Park drainage project is April 18. The earliest that concrete will be poured is the first week of May. The asphalt is scheduled for the second or third week of May, depending on the forecast for freezing temperatures overnight.
• Learned that three election officials, Kathy Mitchell, Loretta Logslett and Diane Hodgson, worked from 6:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. for the spring election on April 5.
• Learned that the village hall bathroom floors will be completed before April 24. The Colfax Woman’s Club purchased the flooring, and Brian Anderson and Scott and Sheila Riemer are donating their time to lay the flooring.
• Learned that the Colfax Municipal Auditorium has temporary window coverings. Niggemann donated the material, and Sheila Riemer, deputy clerk, and Lisa Bragg-Hurlburt, director of the Colfax Public Library, assisted with the installation. The window coverings were up in time for the Colfax third graders to watch “The Peanuts Movie” the afternoon of April 1 as a reward for meeting their Accelerated Reading goals.
• Learned that Trees on Wheels has estimated the cost at $300 to move the pine tree from Tower Park to the park on the Red Cedar River by the flagpole. A date has not yet been scheduled for moving the tree.
• Learned that since the village board approved electronic village board packets, the quarterly copy cost has gone from $70 to $15.
• Learned that the poles for Tom Prince Memorial Park are expected to be delivered April 15 and the scoreboards are expected April 20.
• Learned that the Colfax Softball Association has signed up another advertiser for Tom Prince Memorial Park. Cedar Country Cooperative has purchased four years of advertising for $1,800.