Police Board says city's insurance just won't cut it, back to the drawing board for both sides

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Hundreds of Kansas City police officers and civilian and retired department members attended Thursday's Board of Police Commissioners meeting. The crowd spilled into the hallways. Many in attendance watched from monitors rather than first hand because of the lack of space.

An impending change to the police department's health insurance plan is what attracted the crowd. Currently, department members are covered under a plan only offered to them.

Other city workers are covered by an internal health insurance plan through a trust. City Manager Troy Schulte said Thursday that if the police department joins in that trust, the city would save $1.9 million.

The Fraternal Order of Police's Brad Lemon said Thursday that his organization stands against joining in the trust as it stands now.
Lemon contended that FOP members have worked hard to stay fit with several health inititives. He worries that being lumped together with other city workers will raise premiums and deductibles because of the differences in levels of health.

Local Fraternal Order of Police President Brad Dumit explains, "We have a lot of plans in place to make sure we do stay healthy. So yea, it's on the forefront of all of our minds."

The numbers calculated by the benefit consultants from the city and the police department didn't jive. The board said repeatedly that it needs correct and consistent numbers to compare costs. Where one group says there would be savings, the other group contends that the savings would actually just be cost shifting.

Schulte says there would be an added cost of $350,000 in premiums and deductibles for department members with if they join into the trust. However, he says, the several million in city savings would be given back to the department.

Schulte explains, "What we would do is allow KCPD to capture all of the savings for the needs of the KCPD for the coming year whether it be officers or merit increases or those types of issues."

Department members were very vocal in protest during the meeting. At times, their simultaneous murmurs were louder than the speaker.
No final decision was made Thursday. Instead, the group decided to leave 60 days for possible compromise.

The Board of Police Commissioners President, Patrick McInerney, said he wouldn't agree to joining the trust until a new plan was in place. He said the city will have to be flexible in the structure of the insurance plan it offers his department members. He envisions a third and final plan that is a reflection of the city's insurance plan and the department's insurance plan.

He warns, "If its leveraged on the backs of the people who work for the police department than we might have some trouble."