Decision on new health plan expected sometime next week

Ohio University faculty and staff members must wait at least another week before they find out if they are affected by a new health care program.

Nine companies, including Accordia, Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, MedBen (Ohio Health), Medical Mutual, Unicare, Prudential and Kroger, bid on OU's package in February, according to a Feb. 26 Post article.

Greg Fialko, OU director of benefits, said in the Post article that the university's selection of a health care program would be announced by the end of February.

But two months later, a plan has not yet been selected. OU officials now plan to make a decision sometime next week.

"It's just that anytime you have something like this, there are some things you want to make sure in the contract (before you release it)," Fialko said.

The date the new plan would go into effect will be announced once the decision is made, he said.

"We don't want to announce it as July 1 and then all of a sudden have it be the 15th," Fialko said.

-Brittany Yingling