NATCHEZ — Adams County supervisors Thursday voted to go against the recommendation of Blue Cross Blue Shield to have only one insurance provider quote the county’s health insurance coverage.

Instead the county will have two agents provide quotes — Hazlip Insurance and LS and Associates.

The decision came after a BCBS of Mississippi representative Doug Henley allegedly wrote in an email to county administrator Joe Murray suggesting he understood the county needed to play politics and include as many insurance agents as possible, but that the process would go smoother if only one were used.

The decision brought up much discussion about insurance.

“In the past, we had more than one person give a bid out for Blue Cross,” Board of Supervisors President Mike Lazarus said. “I don’t know what the deal is unless they changed the way they do things.”

Supervisor Ricky Gray said Blue Cross wouldn’t give the City of Natchez a quote last year, and that the county hasn’t been dealing with them.

Lazarus, however, said they want to get as many quotes from as many companies as possible.

“We have had employees wanting to go back to Blue Cross,” he said.

When supervisor Angela Hutchins suggested the board look into a different insurance provider each year, Murray cautioned against that.

“Third party administrators don’t like to see all of this flip flopping,” he said. “When you are getting agents to fight for your policy every year, the providers get tired of you. It makes it harder and harder to get insurance for the county.”

“But when you have no competition, it seems like the insurance gets higher and higher every year,” Hutchins said.

When they do select a provider, Lazarus said the supervisors need to be careful — the cheapest isn’t always the best.

“Cheaper isn’t always better if no doctor in Natchez will take it,” he said.

Murray said the county switched from Blue Cross to United Health Care because it saved approximately $200,000, but the premiums went up the next year to be approximately the same as what they were paying Blue Cross.

Lazarus said he’s had to travel to find doctors that take United Health, and he worries about that for the employees.

“I don’t mind going out of town,” he said. “I can handle it but a lot of people can’t.”

4 The board also unanimously approved execution of the paperwork would allow the county to purchase a $560,000 firetruck for the City of Natchez as part of its fire protection agreement with the city.

4Supervisors assigned County Attorney Scott Slover to work out the details in leasing the scale house on the former International Paper property to Delta Energy Group and Tidmore Construction.