Sometime in July I made a Public Records request for the information regarding which council members that were taking advantage of the Health Insurance offered by Iberia Parish Government. At first I received a reply from the Human Resource Director which stated they could not provide me with this list because it would involve or expose family members and this was against their policy. I then made another request for simply a list of which council members were using the insurance and what was the cost to Iberia Parish Government for this coverage. In a letter dated July 27, 2009 I received the following from Human Resource Director:

 

"On July 23, 2009 you made a public records request for a list of names of council members that are using healthcare insurance provided by Iberia Parish Government. The following council members are on our health plan:

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1. Boudoin, Curtis

 

2. Daniels, Maggie

 

3. Duncan, Roger

 

4. Fitch, Jerome

 

5. Hulin, Naray

 

6. Landry, Thomas

 

7. Romero, Glenn

 

8. Williams,Charles

 

It is my understanding that employee deductions are excluded from public records request.

 

Sincerely,

 

Donna L. McDonald

 

Director, Human Resources"

 

After receiving this letter I requested

again the amount that the Iberia Parish government pays for the health insurance premiums. On August 6, 2009 I received the following letter from the Human Resource Director.

"Pursuant to advice from our legal council, Mr. Eric Duplantis, it is his position that the dollar amount of health insurance premiums would be exempt from the Public Records Act. Mr. Duplantis will continue to research this request.

 

Sincerely,

 

Donna L. McDonald

 

Director, Human Resources

 

I again called and spoke to the Human Resource Director and asked how can something that is paid by Iberia Parish Government, figured into their annual budget not be available to the public. This was once again check into and on Sept. 9, 2009 I finally received a chart from Iberia Parish Government listing what type of coverage (employee, employee and spouse, employee with child, and employee with family). The chart also showed me the total monthly premium, what the employee portion of payment was, employee bi-weekly portion of payment and the cost that Iberia Parish Government paid for each type of coverage. It is as follows:

1. Employee Only, Total Monthly Premium $425,15, Employee Monthly Premium $53.14, Employee biweekly Portion of Premium $26.57 and IPG Portion of Premium $372.01

 

2. Employee and Spouse, Total Monthly Premium $850.31, Employee Monthly Portion of Premium $108.30, Employee Biweekly Portion of Premium $53.15 and IPG Portion of Premium $744.01

 

3. Employee and Child, Total Monthly Premium $786.55, Employee Monthly Portion of Premium $98.31, Employee Biweekly Portion of Premium $49.16 and IPG Portion of Premium $688.23

 

4. Employee and Family, Total Monthly Premium $1,211.68, Employee Portion of Premium $151.46, Employee Biweekly Portion of Premium and IPG Portion of Premium $1,060.22

 

In my possession I have copies of all these documents just as anyone could if you made the Public Records Request.

Let's look at the list of council members that are on the IPG Health Insurance Plan paid for by the tax payers.

1. Curtis Boudoin: Most likely already on Medicare and is using this IPG plan as a supplement to his medicare instead of purchasing his own he is purchasing one that the bulk of the premium is paid for by tax payers.

2. Maggie Daniels: Employed by the Iberia Parish School Board, has access to health insurance with the school board but it would cost her more money for this coverage so she uses chooses to use the IPG plan which is cheaper and the bulk is paid for by the tax payers.

3. Roger Duncan: Appears to be self employed, most likely has coverage for himself and his wife unless he still has school age children then it falls under the family coverage. Self employed individuals normally do not carry health insurance for them nor their employees unless they are a large company. Instead of seeking a policy on his own he chooses to use the IPG health insurance in which the bulk is paid for by the tax payers.

4. Jerome Fitch: Another self employed construction worker that has no insurance coverage nor his employees. He may have only coverage for himself and his spouse unless he has school age children then he would have family coverage. Instead of seeking a policy on his own he chooses to use the IPG health insurance in which the bulk is paid for by the tax payers.

5. Naray Hulin: He and his wife are both employed as school bus drivers in this parish. They could most likely have coverage through the school board for the bus drivers association. I would venture to say that he has coverage with IPG for himself and his spouse since they no longer have school age children. Instead of seeking a policy on his own he chooses to use the IPG health insurance in which the bulk is paid for by the tax payers.

6. Thomas Landry: He has a successful business as a Physical Therapist and his wife has a success retail store. He must not offer health insurance for his employees. He is considered somewhat part of the medical field. Do we know anyone that is hurting in the medical field? I must say, his place of business is a very good place to go for physical therapy as I have been a patient there in the past. I would venture to say he has employee and spouse coverage and maybe the possibility of still have school age children, not positive. In which case he would at least have employee and spouse coverage with IPG. Instead of seeking a policy on his own he chooses to use the IPG health insurance which the bulk is paid for by the tax payers.

7. Glenn Romero: A self employed business man that must not have insurance coverage for himself or employee. No children at home of school age so therefore I would venture to say he has health insurance coverage for himself and his spouse. Instead of seeking a policy on his own he chooses to use the IPG health insurance which the bulk is paid for by the tax payers.

8. Charles Williams: From previous years was injured on the job and not sure what type of insurance coverage he could possibly have. It could possibly be Workerman's Comp or Social Security Disability. Being a person that comes from a similar situation I could understand why he might choose to use IPG health insurance because in this type of situation you are on a limited income. I just wonder if he has Medicare if he is using IPG coverage for a supplement. I know I write a check every month for $267.20 for a supplement. This is a big chunk for someone on a fixed income.

Now, you have the figures on the cost to Iberia Parish Government so go figure out what it must be costing or close to it as to what Iberia Parish Government is paying for Health Insurance for a elected, public servant part time position. Think about this when you go to the polls Saturday October 17, 2009, this weekend to vote. When you see Proposition No. 1 regarding Compensation or Raise for parish council members and giving them the right to increase their salary every 2 years, "VOTE NO!" Thank you for taking the time to read this information.