The city's health costs are expected to drop 3 percent next year. You read that right.
Changes in the city's health insurance and prescription administrators led to a project saving of nearly $800,000 in 2008.
Mayor Becker said this week he expects the account to come out flat, but is hoping for the decrease. He's not, however, expecting long-term gains from falling health insurance rates.
"This buys us a year, maybe two," he said. "We still need a permanent fix."
The city, which is self insured, expects its health care costs to drop from an estimated $17,525,106 in 2007 to $16,794,063 in 2008.
The numbers are soft - 2007 isn't over and 2008 is just a projection - but it's a good sign for a local government that had seen double-digit percent increases in health costs in recent years.
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