Franklin County auditor Karla Bauman and county legal counsel Grant Reeves reveal the findings of their audit into the county's health insurance payments in response to claims made on Mar. 29 by Franklin County Council member Brian Patterson.

Franklin County Commissioners discussed the matter at their Apr. 5 meeting. 

“It's kind of a shocker to us all and he's trying to use information, that I'm going to call fake news trying to stir things up I guess,”said commission president Tom Linkle before asking Bauman for her report.

Bauman summarized Patterson's claims at council's Mar. 29 meeting that the county had overpaid life and health insurance for county employees by $60,000 in 2020, which would add up to $1.2 million if continued for 20 years. Patterson stated he found out about the issue four months ago and that commissioners had made no efforts to recoup the lost funds. Patterson asked council to hire its financial consultant, Reedy Financial Group, to audit county records at a cost of approximately $2,000. Instead, council chose to ask Reeves to review the county's contract with insurance provider MedBen. 

Bauman then revealed she reviewed insurance payments in 2020 on Mar. 31 and found overpayments made for four former county employees after they had resigned from their position. More than half of the excess payments have already been recouped by the county, with a total of $1,743 in excess payments.

Bauman discovered a delay in MedBen's processing of coverage requests once contacted by commissioners. An example of a request to remove an individual on Feb. 3, 2020, the change was not reflected in MedBen's invoices until the county was billed for April's coverage. Bauman is working with representatives from MedBen to review and improve the process going forward. 

The source of confusion has been identified in an invoice sent to the county from life insurance provider Sun Life Financial. Bauman explained the county once contracted directly with Sun Life to provide services for county employees; however, that arrangement changed in 2015 when Sun Life began working through MedBen. Where the county directly paid Sun Life prior to 2015, the county now pays MedBen, who in turn pays Sun Life. The invoice sent from Sun Life to the county, showing the names of former and deceased employees, was not paid by the county. The county only pays for insurance coverage for individuals listed on MedBen invoices, not Sun Life invoices.

MedBen invoices can also be a source of confusion, as the invoice lists fees in several columns for each employee, but not all columns are being paid out. Reeves explained one of the columns on the invoice is a separate account program offered through MedBen, although the county does not use or pay for that service, the column is still included on invoices. Reeves reported the findings of the contract between the county and MedBen, but is seeking further documents regarding Sun Life.

Linkle also address Patterson's claim the county paid insurance for vehicles no longer owned by the county. He explained the county operates on fleet insurance, which is quoted for the year. The county may sell or purchase vehicles during the year, but the cost of coverage will not change until the contract is up for renewal.