Flowery Branch employees have a new health insurance policy.

In the face of rising costs, city officials have decided to go with an HMO plan but give employees the option to "buy up" to the more expensive "Point of Service" plan, City Manager Bill Andrew said this morning.

The HMO plan will cost the city $190,044.

The city now pays $179,764 for the POS plan, under which only doctors can refer patients to a specialist. That amount was scheduled to rise to $224,705, or 25 percent higher.

Andrew brought the matter up to City Council Thursday night, saying the city had until March 15 to decide on a health plan.

Council members said they would e-mail their opinions to Andrew.

"They e-mailed me their decision over the weekend and this morning," the city manager said.

Under the HMO, the deductible would be $1,000 per person for up to three family members. The coinsurance, or costs incurred after co-pays and deductibles are met, is 80 percent; plus, there's a $500 co-pay per hospital admission.

Employees, whose premiums are covered by the city, could opt to pay between $792 for employee-only coverage and $2,376 for employee-plus-family coverage to keep the POS plan in force.

Under the current plan, the deductible is $1,500 per person for up to three people in a family, but the co-insurance is 100 percent.