The Poughkeepsie Town Board voted 5-1 on June 18 in favor of terminating its services with Rose & Kiernan’s New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), instead naming HCG Services, LLC as its broker of record to provide health insurance, employee benefits and personalized client services.
Councilman Michael Cifone (R-4th Ward) was absent from the meeting.
The town had been affiliated with Rose & Kiernan’s NYSHIP program for the past seven years, and board members say they were dissatisfied with the lack of contact from the firm. The town is still partnered with Rose & Kiernan for other types of insurance.
“Where have you been in seven years?” asked councilman Stephan Krakower (R-5th Ward).
Rose & Kiernan Vice-President David Melby spoke on behalf of his office, saying it was equally unfair for the board to notify their insurance company a day before of a possible termination.
“In the last 24 hours, we have received notice that the board is planning to fire us for our broker services,” Melby said.
Melby’s responsibilities for the town included advisement, helping it work with unions and providing brokerage services. Rose & Kiernan is paid a commission from the insurance company itself.
Krakower said he was equally dissatisfied at a negotiation Melby had made in the past.
“When you wanted more money from us, you asked for it without reservation,” Krakower said.
Melby said that Rose & Kiernan is a team player in the community, working with more than 50 municipalities in New York state.
“We write more municipalities, more large group health insurance, than every other broker in this county put together. We are responsible for more municipal business, attention of more large group health insurance than anyone else you’d talk to. We are ingrained in the Town of Poughkeepsie,” Melby said.
Melby said he also looks out for the population most in need of health care.
“I sit down annually with your retirees to make sure their health care decisions and concerns are taken care of,” Melby said.
Councilman Jon J. Baisley (R-1st Ward) said he, along with fellow board members, was displeased with what Rose & Kiernan was trying to offer. Baisley, who has been on the finance committee for the past four years, said it was frustrating that Rose & Kiernan hadn’t “come to the table” sooner to present several plans for the town to choose from.
“Instead of having a single plan or family plan, it was a two-person plan that didn’t come from your office; it came from budget committee meetings,” Baisley said. “I never had personal contact with you or your office, which you’d think in these economic times, you’d work with us.”
Melby said Rose & Kiernan is at the town hall more than once a month, meeting with Town Supervisor Patricia Myers directly, her staff and the comptroller’s office.
Myers, who was the sole voter in favor of retaining Rose & Kiernan for their NYSHIP services, said she was looking out for the best interest of the community.
“I think before we just unilaterally change brokers, whatever the concerns may be to doing this, that in the best interest of the residents and tax payers in this town we go to a RFP (Request For Proposal); we do our diligence to make sure we are hiring the company that will provide the most bang for their buck,” she said.
RFP is an invitation for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to present a proposal on a specific commodity or service.
Krakower suggested to Melby that Rose & Kiernan should have made an attempt to meet with the board even though it was uncommon for a broker to meet with anyone other than town administration.
“I’m not saying anything about Rose and Kiernan’s reputation or quality of services, but the reality is it shouldn’t be when you’re potentially losing the work that we can do this work for you,” Krakower said.
Rising up
Rose & Kiernan Executive Vice-President Charlie Daniels said his company has provided the town with benefits for the past eight years and has also handled the town’s property and casualty program for approximately 10 years. Daniels said Rose & Kiernan performed its services to the town at the level required, but would have gone a step further had he known the Town Board wished to meet with Rose & Kiernan on a regular basis.
“We were dealing with employees of the town, the supervisor, chief financial officer and administration as a whole,” Daniels said. “We were not aware the Town Board wanted us to deal with them directly.”
Daniels said Rose & Kiernan maintains computerized records of activities they provide for the town. He said he was not aware whether a summary of such activities was ever asked for, but could have provided it.