Blue Cross helping coordinate

Sarah Berry, Public Health Director for Waseca County Public Health, accompanied by two representatives of Blue Plus, the health maintenance organization affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, attended the November 1, 2022 regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners to discuss using an existing contract between the county and Blue Plus to provide care coordination and case management services for county residents using the Prepaid Medical Assistance Program (PMAP) and MinnesotaCare senior care. The contract has been previously used for some county residents in need of home visits, but the additional sections of the contract discussed at the meeting had never been utilized. A vote in favor of utilizing this contract would mean Blue Plus would take on the task of providing insurance for some of the county’s residents receiving medical assistance – recipients would be allowed to choose between a Blue Plus plan or the existing South Country Health Alliance (SCHA) plan. The default option for recipients who did not choose a plan, as determined by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, would be SCHA for those on PMAP and would alternate between the two plans for those in the senior care program. A vote against utilizing the contract would mean some county residents would temporarily not receive services, and the county would need to seek out another contractor to fill that role, potentially requiring some residents to make changes to their healthcare providers. Berry provided the Board of Commissioners with a comparison between the SCHA and Blue Plus plans, which showed the plans were extremely similar, with the Blue Plus plan being slightly favorable in certain cases.

The Minnesota DHS has been pushing Waseca County to make a change, in the words of Board Chairman Brad Krause, but the Board of Commissioners is hesitant to alter the county’s relationship with SCHA, a county-based purchasing entity serving nine Minnesota counties, including Waseca. Minnesota state statutes allow counties to elect for this method of providing insurance, as opposed to working with a health management organization, like Blue Plus, or a community integrated service network; Waseca County is currently in litigation with the Minnesota Department of Human Services related to that right. Commissioner Nelson, who sits on the SCHA board, announced during discussion that he’d vote against utilizing the Blue Plus contract due to that litigation and in support of county-based purchasing. Commissioner Malterer moved to vote. Commissioner Christopherson seconded the motion, but said during additional discussion that he was also hesitant to vote in favor of using the contract, and asked whether a vote against this motion would aid the cause for county-based purchasing. With no answer forthcoming, the board voted. The motion failed four-to-one, with Commissioner Malterer voting in favor of utilizing the contract and Commissioners Nelson, Harguth, Christopherson, and Krause voting against. Berry told the board that Waseca County Public Health would begin looking for a new contractor and thanked them for their time.

The Waseca VFW made a $400 donation to Waseca’s Community Emergency Response Team for the purchase of equipment. Commissioner Malterer moved to “accept with gratitude,” and the board voted in favor. Veteran Services brought forth their annual application for their Operational Grant from the Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs, and the County Ditch Authority asked the board to provide final approval and payment authorization for the paving project on County State Aid Highway 41 and mill reclamation on County State Aid Highway 18; both were approved without discussion. The National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Association of County Veteran Services Officers (NACVSO) have sent out a nationwide invitation to take part in an initiative they term “Operation Green Light for Veterans,” which amounts to illuminating municipal spaces in green on November 11, Veteran’s Day, to show support. The two organizations provided outreach resources for counties in their Operation Green Light County toolkit. The board resolved to participate, with Commissioner Krause commenting that the new lighting at the courthouse would go a long way towards a quality display of support in this initiative. County Administrator Michael Johnson informed the board that, thanks in part to the favorable weather, Lenz Lawn Care has nearly completed the landscaping project; he shared a picture of the courthouse taken the previous night, lit in purple for Halloween.

ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods LLC applied for an amendment to its conditional use permit (CUP) to add an equalization tank, a truck loadout scale, and a new access onto 128th Street to their site just outside the Waseca city limits. In addition to the board’s approval, ConAgra will need to obtain permits from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), including an erosion control permit, which has not yet been completed. The planning committee recommended six conditions, and the board voted in favor of amending the CUP with those conditions.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a competitive grant program for environmental improvements, with $1 million available statewide in 2023 in amounts between $150,000 and $250,000. A local match of at least 25% of the grant amount is required for eligibility. The board voted in favor of applying for a $250,000 grant for a yard-waste compost site east of Highway 13 near the solar farm. The projected cost of the project is $479,310, which would leave the county responsible for paying nearly $230,000. This local match amount is not a tax levy or a burden which will be passed directly to residents. Waseca County applied for this grant for the same project in 2021, but was not approved at that time.

Closing the day’s action items was the resolution to adopt the Aquatic Invasive Species Plan for 2023. The plan for the following year must be adopted by December 31 to receive state funding for invasive species control. In 2022, Waseca County spent $83,475 on invasive species control, including public education, watercraft inspection, chemical treatment for Eurasian Watermilfoil in Reeds and Clear Lakes, and physical removal of Curlyleaf Pondweed in Clear Lake. The amount budgeted for 2023, according to the plan submitted to the Board of Commissioners for approval, is $43,000. Most of the disparity comes from the whole-lake fluoridone treatment Clear Lake received for Eurasian Watermilfoil, which is not expected to be necessary again. In the coming years, the lake will be monitored for the invasive plant and spot treatments may be applied where appropriate. Removal of Curlyleaf Pondweed will continue in 2023, with the staff aiming to spend eight weeks harvesting it instead of the four managed this past summer. This was the first of a three-year cooperative, grant-supported effort to harvest and compost the Curlyleaf Pondweed, and at the end of harvesting the staff had removed an average of three tons of pondweed per acre over 75 acres. The board was informed that there were concerns from the city over the amount of loose pondweed which washed up on the shores of Clear Lake, requiring cleanup. The representative of the removal team stated that they “put the black eye on us” for allowing some of the harvested material to be swept away on currents, to which Commissioner Nelson replied, “I’d put the black eye back on them, because they ignored that lake for the last forty years. And I hope I’m quoted.” The board approved the plan, which will allow the county to receive $46,830 in state funding to continue work reducing invasive species infestations in our waterways. The board also received a brief update on the DNR’s infested water list for the surrounding area. Lake Tustin in LeSeuer County now has Eurasian Watermilfoil, and LeSeuer and Rice Counties are both seeing Flowering Rush. Flowering Rush currently has no foothold in Waseca County, so residents using the waters for sports and recreation in those counties should be especially aware to help prevent its spread.