A revised insurance plan will save the city and employees money due to an annual premium reduction of 4 percent.

The revised contract with the Gehring Group will provide a benefit costs reduction for employee and employer of $650,000.

The grand total for the annual premium is $15,380,051.63 for Blue Cross BlueShield of Florida. The city will pay an annual premium of $12,287,622.51 and the grand total for an annual premium for employees is $3,092,429.12.

The annual premium for everyone across the board is a 4 percent decrease.

The dental also saw a reduction of 5 percent with a savings of almost $29,000. Vision on the other hand went up 3.66 percent, with a total increase of $2,246.04

The contract will eliminate the contractual payment of $83,000 for the city’s budget, due to 1 percent being paid by the carrier and $20,000 in salary savings.

Employees will benefit from a reduction in their co-payment for generic prescription drugs they need, which does not increase the premium, resulting in $82,000 benefit.

The revised contract also includes a retro refund of $500,000 that is payable upon renewal with unrestricted use of funds and profit sharing of a 50/50 split for money that is not used for claims.

The insurance services also includes a wellness contribution for $150,000 for 2011 and an additional $75,000 in 2012. The wellness contribution will include wellness initiatives and onsite support for health fairs and wellness seminars.

A penalty fee of $180,000 for firefighters to return to the plan was also eliminated. The city is still waiting to hear back from the firefighters to see if they are interested in the plan.

The revised contract will save the city $1,403,000.

Other areas that the revised contract touched upon includes regular meetings with staff to review the efficiency of the program and the utilization of claims; updates on trends affecting the employees’ benefit plans, along with providing an open enrollment communication materials with an employee benefits booklet, payroll stuffers and posters.

City Councilmember William Deile said the employees are winning with the revised contract, along with the city because they are saving money for the city’s contribution of the plan and the budget because the savings will cover the gap in the budget.

“It is a home run for all concerned, particularly for the employees,” Council-member Kevin McGrail said.