Insurance hike for Joplin employees far worse than Turner Report originally reported

For the second time in the last three years, Joplin city employees will see their health insurance premiums increase by nearly 12 percent.

If the City Council approves the tax proposals at its Monday, October 17, meeting, the cost increase will take effect beginning next month and will offset the first pay increase city employees have had in years.

In an earlier post, the Turner Report mistakenly said this year's increase was 4.3 percent. As it turns out, that was the increase for 2016. This year, premiums will go up by 11.8 percent. Two years ago, city employees were hit with an 11.7 percent increase.

The accompanying City of Joplin documents show the insurance increases and how they were explained to employees.

As noted in the October 6 Turner Report, the financial hurt could be even worse for Joplin city employees since the original budget submitted to the Joplin City Council called for no pay increases. Council members balked at that budget and sent it back to the drawing board, resulting in three percent pay hikes.