After being informed that its health insurance for employees would end on June 30, the Town of Wilton has decided to go with Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan.
The Select Board voted Monday to sign up with the firm after New Hampshire Interlocal Trust wrote to the town saying that it would be ceasing coverage at the end of next month. In explaining its decision, NHIT expressed frustration at a bill in Concord that would create more state control over the insurance risk pools in the state. Earlier this month, the state took over NHIT.
Financial difficulties involving claims prompted NHIT to inform Wilton that in spite of discontinuing coverage for town employees, it will be seeking to assess the town for funds in proportion to its slice of the risk pool as it winds down its business with Wilton and other municipalities in the state.
“Those assessments will take place,” said Town Administrator Nick Germain during Monday’s meeting, but Deputy Town Administrator Janice Pack said Tuesday, “They can assess us, but that doesn’t mean we pay it. That’s when things will get legal.”
Pack earlier stated that the town’s contract with NHIT does not stipulate such assessments shall be paid by the town to make up for any shortfall by the firm. She could not say what the cost of Harvard Pilgrim coverage would be.
In other news, Select Board Chair Tom Schultz expressed an intent to find another email service for the town. Eagle Network Solutions was tasked with a migration of the town’s emails last week, from an exchange server to the cloud, but the process resulted in some town employees losing access to their email as a two-step authentication process was introduced after the process began.
“I don’t care what it costs; I want someone else,” said Schultz Monday. “I can’t accept going days without good communications for a municipality. I’m losing patience with this vendor.”
Germain suggested that the matter should be explored further in a non-public session of the board.