County employees who smoke may pay more for health insurance

GAINESVILLE - Beginning next year Hall County employees will pay more for health insurance if they choose to continue smoking under a proposal reviewed Monday by Hall County Commissioners.

They would pay a $30 monthly surcharge according to county Human Resources Director Charley Nix, who added incentives to stop smoking besides avoiding the surcharge are medicines and counseling.

"You could join the smoke cessation program and part of that program is counseling, part of that program is opening up our drug program to allow smoke cessation drugs to be a part of that, these are pretty expensive drugs", Nix said.

Nix added the county would pay for the drugs, except for small employee co-pay.

Smokers who kick the habit would also get the surcharge re-imbursed.

Nix cited American Cancer Society statistics that reported smokers are absent from work 2.9 days more than non-smokers; lost production is 75 percent higher for smokers and annual workers compensation costs are up to 12 times higher for smokers than non-smokers.

Commissioners indicated approval of the program and agreed to put it on their consent agenda for Thursday's regular meeting.

SEWER PLANT PURCHASE

Commissioners indicated they will also vote yes Thursday on Gainesville, Hall County Development Authority Bonds to purchase the Spout Springs Wastewater treatment plant.

Commission Chairman Tom Oliver said purchasing the plant makes Hall County a sewer provider for south Hall County.

"The good part about this is it will tie into our major trunk line which we're running through the south end allow us to move some water back to Gainesville," Oliver said.

The purchase price is $14-million using tax exempt bond financing for the plant owned by Weiland Homes.

Oliver added that with an anticipated expansion, the plant will eventually discharge into Lake Lanier, returning the water to the Chattahoochee River Basin.