Wiltons employee unions agreed to switch healthcare plans that will save the town more than a half-million dollars.

Wiltons employee unions agreed to switch healthcare plans that will save the town more than a half-million dollars.

Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

Wiltons employee unions agreed to switch healthcare plans that will save the town more than a half-million dollars.

Wiltons employee unions agreed to switch healthcare plans that will save the town more than a half-million dollars.

Wilton gets windfall in healthcare savings

WILTON The town is expecting to achieve big savings in healthcare costs, which could positively impact two budget lines that were reduced for the new fiscal year.

As of July 1, town employees transitioned from the towns self-insured plan with Anthem to the State Partnership Plan for employee health care.

The switch is expected to result in an approximate $600,000 in savings, First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice told the Board of Selectmen at a meeting on July 21.

The state health plan covers police, fire, parks and grounds and administrative town union employees as well as non-union town employees.

The plan is a win-win for employees and the town. I want to thank our union leadership and membership, along with Wiltons director of human resources and administration. They all worked collaboratively and expeditiously to make this happen, Vanderslice said.

She told the board in April that Anthem was expected to go up 12.25 percent if the town stayed with its self-insured plan, so she worked with the town employee unions to transition to the state plan.

In anticipation of the switch, $300,000 of the $600,000 savings was already reflected in the FY2021 approved budget.

This assisted the Board of Selectmen in achieving a FY2021 budget which was 1.77 percent lower than our FY2020 budget, Vanderslice said.

She said the selectmen will discuss in August whether any of the additional savings should be used to reinstate some of the funding reductions to the FY2021 Wilton Library and Trackside grants.

pgay@wiltonbulletin.com

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Wilton gets windfall in healthcare savings - The Wilton Bulletin