Remarks by Marvin S. Arrington, Jr.
102 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 5
- Play at 21:23
“Mr. Chair, I'm happy to talk about this. It might just be better to bring it on the next agenda or wait until we get five votes. We don't even have five votes. Even if everyone that was here supported it, we don't have the five votes, so it may just be better to be included on the next agenda or consider once the fifth vote comes in. Okay.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:45:47
“Thank you guys for the work that you've done in pulling this together. I guess I hate that we're getting it At this late date, because there's not really any time to do anything else or to go back out or necessarily have any negotiations. Can we go back to slide eight?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:46:12
“Slide number eight. So- My understanding is that the rates are gonna increase by 20.6%, and that the proposal is to double the amount from 2,000 to 4,000 for those that are on the Anthem POS plan, is that correct?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:47:04
“And doubling that limit means that those employees will be paying twice as much as what they've been paying?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:48:32
“All right, and my understanding is, what is the total number of employees that we have on the health plan? Do you have those numbers?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:49:09
“Okay, so 4,000 enrolled in the Anthem Plan. And how many of those are enrolled in Anthem POS?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:49:27
“Okay, thank you. 1,300, okay, so the number I was told yesterday was 400.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:50:52
“Right, but so I think the long and short of it is the plan's going up by 20%. And we're proposing that 400 people or 400 or 1,300 people cover the cost of reducing it to 19.1%.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:52:15
“My questions aren't about the individual care. My questions are about the 20.6% increase. And the way to get that 20.6% increase down to 19.1% is by doubling the amount from 2,000 to 4,000 for those employees that are on the POS system, right?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:52:45
“That's the proposal. You're proposing that double the amount that these have people pay for out-of-pocket expenses.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:52:59
“Limit, before they hit the cap, double the amount.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:53:02
“Yes, so double that amount for those 1,300 people, of which only 400 are hitting that number. So double that amount for those 1300 or really those 400 people in order to bring the cost down to 19.1% for everybody. So basically 400 people are paying to reduce the rate 1.5% for everybody else.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:55:07
“No, and I'm glad that you pointed out the flip side of that coin. I mean, the challenge, I guess, for me and us up here is not only do we have to look at this from saving the county money, but we also have to look at it from the employee side as well, right? Absolutely. And so there's a delicate balance between how do we save the county money and passing that burden on. But I think your point is, well received that if we don't do that, then all the other employees are covering the cost for.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 1:56:19
“All right, yeah, I mean, prices are going up everywhere. Prices are up at the grocery store, the gas station, so it only makes sense the healthcare costs would be going up. I just didn't want to unfairly place that burden on- Yes. 400 people to reducing the plan for everybody else. But again, I think your point is well received. That's the most expensive plan. So those people might be getting. they may be passing the burden on to all the other employees for having the most expensive plan.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 2:09:46
“And where are they? They're right here. Okay, y'all sitting far away.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 2:35:46
“Thank you, colleagues. Yeah, that number of $5 billion and It basically makes the entire discussion about healthcare costs disingenuous. That's $5 billion after you've paid for all your expenses. After you've paid for the top 200, the top 100, the top 500, it's still $5 billion left. So I don't want to hear about your expenses. I don't want to hear that the costs have gone up. That's irrelevant. You're still making $5 billion a year in profit after everybody's salary is paid for, after the taxes are paid, after everything is done, there's still $5 billion a year. I started out talking about…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 3:03:21
“I think Commissioner Ellis' point is right on point. His question is asking about what are those fees and how much is going because that really drives it. But I guess the other question I have is are there Does Anthem contribute to employee wellness? Will you all come have a fair for us? Is there a percentage of the fee that comes back to help with employee health and wellness? Yes, we've got an aging population. Yes, we have maybe a population that needs more service, right? Where does Anthem, what role does Anthem play in helping educate and provide health and wellness to Fulton County…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 3:04:40
“Yeah, I'm not talking about does Fulton County have a health fair? I'm talking about how much money out of what Anthem is getting are they putting back? How much are they making sure comes back to the employees in health and education? I'm not talking about Fulton County. I want to hear from Anthem.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 3:05:25
“Do not use. Good Lord. We got 600. They trying to save 600,000 by going up on POS. I don't understand how there could be some unused funds and a rollover. Thank you. Is that number a percentage? Thank you for that. And I think that goes to Commissioner Ellis' question is what is that fee, right? How much is Anthem actually getting versus how much is going out, right? But is that a percentage? How is that number derived? Is that number going up by 20%?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 3:06:16
“Yeah, look, I mean, it got to make sense. We got to make it make sense. Yeah. Right? I mean, we can't. It doesn't make sense for y'all to ask us to go up by 20% and y'all not going to join us. And I think, again, that goes to Commissioner Ellis' point. Hopefully we'll get that information because we want to be partners too. We want to be good partners. We appreciate everything that you guys are doing. And we don't want to put an unfair burden on you guys. But when we hear, hey, there's 20% going up, the cap is doubling. The cap is going up 100%. and the cost is going up 20%. Good Lord have…”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 3:20:14
“Chair, I think it was also your amendment to the first one, the not to exceed, both of those amendments. Correct.”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 5:14:57
“Commissioner Arrington. Thank you. Thank you. I'm looking at this chart, it says goal of 200 hires in 2026. And then it shows 33% of goal. Help me out with my memory. Was it a goal of 200 new hires or just a goal of 200 hires?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 5:15:35
“Okay. I just want to make sure that we're being fair. The goal is net? I stand corrected, Commissioner. Okay, all right. So let's just make sure we clean that up, right, on the slides going forward. Because if it's 200 hires and you got 114 plus 60, then he's at 174. And I'm just trying to keep track of it. So if it's net, that's fine. We just need to define it as net. and not say 200 or higher so to leave any confusion in there, right?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 5:16:16
“Okay, thank you. Yes, okay, so the 114, he gets another 10 or 12 this month. You said there's another 12 potentially coming in?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026
- Play at 5:16:38
“So that gets them up to 126. And then roughly 20 a month, you're saying, are coming in now?”
Board of Commissioners · Sep 16, 2026