City close to settling outstanding employee bills with Quincy Medical Group from 2022, 2023

QUINCY — The Quincy City Council’s Finance Committee learned during Monday’s meeting at the Quincy Public Library that the city is close to settling all outstanding employee bills with Quincy Medical Group from 2022 and 2023.

Former City Treasurer Linda Moore, now serving as a consultant for the city’s health insurance, said the city has closed claims yielding a rebate of $159,411 for the two years in question. The city still has $210,536 left in open claims. Moore said $32,205 of that figure is recoverable from Blue Cross Blue Shield, leaving a balance of $178,331.

“We’ve been working to correct these issues for the past nine months,” Moore said in a memo to the Finance Committee. “Periodic changes in how claims are paid by Blue Cross Blue Shield, delays in billing from Quincy Medical Group (and many other providers) documentation from Coalition claims, the timing of Coalition payments and the refusal of some employees to bill BCBS of Illinois are the main reasons for many issues. Educating our employees and miscommunication regarding the HRA plan have contributed to the challenges, too.”

Moore proposed using the QMG rebate to offset outstanding claims at QMG.

“QMG is willing to write off the remaining unpaid balances, and no further billing for 2022 and 2023 would go out to our employees,” she wrote.

Moore told aldermen during their March 25 meeting that more than 7,500 claims had to be reprocessed.

The Finance Committee voted to send the proposal to the full City Council to vote on at its July 15 meeting.

In other action, aldermen:

• Adopted a three-year agreement with the District 9 International Association of Machinist Local 822 concerning the terms and wages for May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2027. Machinist Local 822 represents approximately 85 laborers and clerical administrative staff across multiple City of Quincy departments.
• Learned Omaha, Neb.-based developer Jim Otis will be in Quincy this week to meet with aldermen about his proposed retail development at 54^th and Broadway. The City Council is expected to vote on the proposal at its July 15 meeting.
• Voted as members of Quincy Township to approve a final report on the Local Government Efficiency Act.
• Approved the purchase of six Safariland Hyper-X level IIIA tactical vests and rifle plates from Streicher’s, Inc., from Butler, Wis., for $19,853.88.
• Authorized submission and support for the Illinois DCEO Rebuild Downtowns and Maine
• Streets Grant Program application. Quincy is applying for a $3.7 million grant help pay for improvements to Hampshire from Fifth to Eighth, including street resurfacing, sidewalk replacement, new street lighting, water and sewer lines and other amenities. The city would commit approximately $450,000 in TIF money and $1.4 million from its utility accounts toward the project.
• Tabled for one week a vote on a 20-year community solar subscription contract with Nexamp of Louisville, Colo.
• Approved an invoice from Pace Analytical Services, LLC of Peoria for $8,028.44 for a quarterly sludge basin sampling analysis.
• Approved by a 9-3 vote an invoice for $72,500 from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for annual NPDES Permit fees. Director of Public Works Jeffrey Conte said the permit allows the city to discharge its treated sewage into the Mississippi River. “Without paying that bill, we technically don’t have a permit to do the discharge, so we would have to stop the discharge or get penalties,” he said.
• Authorized a second mural to be painted by Jennifer Bock-Nelson on the Horizons Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry building at 224 S. Eighth. Bock-Nelson painted the first mural on the east side of the building.
• Approved payment of a $9,920 annual premium to Gallagher Insurance of Quincy for general airport liability insurance.
• Approved payment of a $13,536 annual renewal contract to SHI International Corp. for the Cisco Duo multi-factor authentication solution.
• Adopted an ordinance granting a variation from zoning regulations, allowing a rear yard at 700 S. 18^th to be reduced from the required 30 feet to 10 feet to allow for the construction of a single-family residential dwelling on the western lot resulting from the subdivision of 700 S. 18^th.