The Leflore County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Monday to contract with a new provider of gap insurance for county employees.
Sam Abraham, District 1 supervisor, voted against the motion to accept a proposal from Affordable Employee Benefits of Ecru and Gulf Guaranty of Jackson for secondary coverage.
“I know what I have under the current plan, and I need to be sure of what employees would be receiving. I’m not comfortable changing at this time,” he said.
The rest of the board voted in favor after a presentation by An-drew Nowlin, president of Affordable Employee Benefits, and Jim Robertson, chairman of the board and CEO at Gulf Guaranty of Jackson.
Currently the county and employees have insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield, with Morgan White of Ridgeland as a secondary provider. Under the new plan, according to Nowlin, the county would have Blue Cross Blue Shield with Gulf Guaranty as secondary.
According to information provided by the company, insurance with Gulf Guaranty would save the county and employees a total of $344,437 a year.
“We work, and we’re here,” Robertson said. His company expects that, should Greenwood Leflore Hospital be acquired by the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Blue Cross will be able to work out an agreement to continue serving citizens. UMMC and Blue Cross have been in a contract dispute over reimbursement rates and UMMC is no longer a Blue Cross network provider.
The county also heard from Mike Slaughter, a certified planner and professional engineer, about redistricting voting maps for election districts covering supervisors, justice court and constable’s districts.
Slaughter said he prepared a nonpartisan proposal to even out population totals per district so they are the same.
The board requested more information before moving forward in approving the modifications to the voting districts.
The board also approved an interlocal agreement between Leflore County and the city of Greenwood. The agreement allows the county to work within city jurisdictions to deliver public services.
The board also voted for:
- Creating a resolution honoring the life of the late Thelma Sims.
- Cutting the grass at Amanda Elzy High School.
- Making $354,569 worth of repairs on County Road 513.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
