JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Hinds County supervisors have voted 3-2 to keep the contract approved Oct. 4 with United Healthcare and its local representative, Bottrell Insurance.

The new contract lowers employees' health insurance deductible from a staggering $5,000 to a low of $500 but more than doubles their monthly premiums, from $73 for a single employee to $173.

The board voted Monday to absorb about $44 of the cost per month per employee.

County Administrator Carmen Davis told The Clarion-Ledger (http://on.thec-l.com/TXCxym) that's possible because the county budgeted for an 8% increase in its share of the health insurance cost, and that cost ended up not rising. The 8% would equal about $44 per employee per month.

Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com

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