The City of LaGrange Returns to
Covenant Services Group
Like other municipalities, the self-insured city of LaGrange, Georgia, found health care costs spiraling out of control. In just five years, costs had risen by $1 million, and in 2005, the city had spent more than $3.6 million in insurance claims for employees.
City officials looked to Covenant Services Group’s wellness program to help keep rising health care costs in check.
Just like in Benton County, Arkansas, the program was enormously successful. It was also flexible enough to meet the needs of the city, by applying the discounts that employees earn for being healthy to the employee-paid premiums, instead of the base plan deductibles.
The program took effect in 2006. The cost of claims that year dropped by about 17 percent, or $600,000, compared to 2005 costs. The number of claims per employee also dropped drastically. In 2007, the city saw a 1 to 2 percent increase in the cost of claims, which was still lower than the average increase from most insurers. For 2008, the city of LaGrange opted to try another program, instead of Covenant’s employee wellness program.
“We respected that Tom and Meg (Tom Hall, City Manager, and Meg Kelsey, Deputy City Manager) found another program they felt was a good solution,” said Jim Ballew, president/CEO, Covenant Services Group.
However, after one year with this other program, the city of LaGrange has returned to Covenant Services Group for 2009.
“We are pleased that after evaluating other programs, the city of LaGrange has returned to Covenant Services Group. We recognize that our clients most be vigilant in finding the best cost-saving solutions for their unique circumstances, and in response to variables in the market. We always welcome the opportunity to demonstrate how all our programs, including our employee wellness program, can help them realize significant savings from year to year,” said Ballew.
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