Baton Rouge Approves Compromise on Employee Health Insurance Costs

The Baton Rouge Metro Council approved a compromise regarding health insurance for city-parish employees following weeks of negotiations. Employees keeping their current plans will see monthly premiums increase by 15% on some plans and 25% on others, and they will also face higher deductibles. These premium increases are five percentage points lower than the initial proposal from the mayor’s administration.

The city-parish pays its own health insurance claims, and consultants project the current plan will exceed budget by six to eight million dollars this year. Because the premium increases were reduced, the city-parish will need to find roughly $700,000 more to cover the cost of the compromise.