John Coffelt, Editor

In April of 2022, the City of Manchester decided to forgo its employee insurance plan through the State of Tennessee in favor of a plan through Blue Cross/Blue Shields & Gerber Life Insurance Company.

 The new plan was approved by city officials as not to exceed $1,311,128, which was based current enrollment for Group Health Insurance for employees and officials of the City of Manchester.

 It was a decision many in the city thought was a mistake. Now, a year later, the City of Manchester wants out of that deal.

 “We need to get our insurance fixed,” Alderman Donny Parsley said during a recent city Finance Committee meeting. “We can’t continue another year.”

 Parsley, a member of the Finance Committee, made a motion during the Feb. 13 committee meeting to

instruct Director of Finance Lisa Myers to put together a request for proposal for new insurance. The city cannot return to the state plan until next year.

 Myers said that the insurance representatives will be meeting with all city employees to show them details of the plan, to see if there is a way the employees can more effectively use their coverage with less out of pocket costs.  

 “I was blunt with them… ‘We are very dissatisfied, and the employees are very dissatisfied,” Myers said during the meeting. “They have assured me that our insurance should be better than what we had.”

 “—but it’s not working out,” Parsley said in reply.

 Myers speculated that the gap insurance may not have in-network providers, while Parsley reiterated that the customer service was spotty.

 “I don’t think that anyone is satisfied with the insurance carrier,” Parsley said. “I don’t know how many employees talked about how bad it is.” 

 Vice Mayor Mark Messick said he now regrets voting for the plan.

 “I voted for it, but I made a mistake,” he said. “I’d be alright with just firing them.”

 During the meeting, Chelsy Cuendet with Lester Greene McCord & Thomas Insurance, and Tim Herndon with Benefits Blueprint Partners  presented a health insurance option that could save the city and employees money, touting  lower premiums and lower out of pocket maximums for the employees and city, to the tune of at least $130,000.

 The board held off on requesting an RFP until after the broker interviews.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.