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CLAYTON — Hundreds of emails have been hitting the inboxes of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Council members, all with the same message: don’t approve a new health insurance contract for county employees.

ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Executive Sam Page, meanwhile, is warning that open enrollment is less than a month away and the council needs to act now on a new contract with UnitedHealthcare or risk being unable to offer insurance to employees.

The seemingly mundane business of choosing a health benefit administrator has turned into a politicized pressure campaign since the Page administration’s announcement last month that UnitedHealth had submitted a better offer than its administrator since 2017, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Missouri.

“I can’t think of something we’ve received this much communication on in a long time,â€� said ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Councilwoman Lisa Clancy of Maplewood. “It sounds like Anthem has a really powerful lobby, and I hope that’s not getting in the way of making the best decision.â€�

Councilwoman Rita Heard Days of Bel-Nor said there’s also pressure from the Page administration to quickly approve the United contract. She hasn’t heard about any problems with Anthem in her years on the council, and she is on the county’s health plan herself.

“I need to know the background — what was the impetus for changing?� Days said. “I’d rather do this appropriately. I’d rather hear all sides of this.�

Councilman Dennis Hancock, of Fenton, said there are plenty of county employees worried about switching insurers, too.

“We’re also getting lobbied by county employees who are saying, ‘why are we making this change?’� Hancock said. “Any time we’re told you have to hurry up and make a decision, that’s always a red flag for me.�

Despite agreement that the council needs more information on why the county procurement office decided it was worth switching health benefit administrators, a committee meeting to discuss the matter is still a month away, scheduled two days before the Aug. 15 start of open enrollment.

Council Chairwoman Shalonda Webb, who controls scheduling and faces a serious challenger to keep her north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County seat in the Aug. 6 primary election, said after the meeting Tuesday she is working to schedule meetings on multiple subjects. Several council members urged her Tuesday to prioritize the health contract.

“I think we need to have this moved up as soon as possible,� said Councilman Mark Harder of Chesterfield.

In a letter Friday, Page said the “lack of urgency� is worrying employees concerned they could lose insurance and “access to their doctors� when Anthem’s current contract expires Sept. 30.

But a Monday letter from an Anthem attorney accused Page of using “scare tactics.�

He “hopes to orchestrate an emergency for which he will undoubtedly claim that he possesses the authority to bypass the Council and proceed to commit the County to unknown services at a premium cost,� the letter from Amy Fehr of Capes Sokol said.

By Wednesday, Page spokesman Doug Moore was warning that the procurement director had the power to enter into an emergency contract if Webb and the council did not hold a committee meeting on the contract in “the next few days.� There, the administration could make its case to the council about why it believed UnitedHealth was a better deal, though it would likely do so in closed session because the contract isn’t final, Moore said.

Anthem, meanwhile, was urging the council to grant it a one-year contract extension. Moore said the county’s procurement office does not believe the contract allows it to do that.

Anthem has protested loudly since the county announced last month it had chosen UnitedHealth to administer health benefits following a February request for proposals. It claims the UnitedHealth contract will cost $4 million to $6 million more than Anthem’s contract and alleged there had been irregularities in the procurement process. The county procurement office rejected Anthem’s protest.

But a lawyer for UnitedHealth, Zack Smith of Spencer Fane, said at a County Council meeting Tuesday that Anthem was comparing “apples and oranges� to come up with its claim that UnitedHealth would cost the county more.

The county has a self-insurance plan that pays its employee medical claims out-of-pocket. Anthem is projecting $28.3 million in medical claims paid by the county, compared to UnitedHealth’s $24 million estimate, Smith said. The county projects $32 million in claims plus a $1.3 million administrative fee for UnitedHealth, but Smith said the county’s claims estimate is based on a formula “unknown to UnitedHealth.�

Whatever the cost, the county’s procurement director, Jennifer Keating, said it chose UnitedHealth “not based on a low bid, but rather best value.� The county made its choice based on , such as each company’s network of medical providers and minority and women-owned business subcontractors.

Anthem isn’t going without a fight. Its Missouri president, Stephanie Vojicic, has been at most council meetings since the award was announced. And the messages continue to hit council members’ inboxes, all with the same message.

“I was disappointed when I heard that ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County officials had decided to replace the medical benefits of County employees with a new, much more expensive medical plan,â€� they read. “That disappointment turned to dismay when I learned that the new plan will actually cost ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County as much as $6 million!â€�

Some of the senders list addresses outside the county — locales such as Kansas City, Belleville and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ City — according to several shared with the newspaper. One woman, who did live in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County, said she remembers responding to something from the AARP about the issue. Another woman who lived in Metro East said she had no idea about the insurance fight but that she “responds to a lot of political things.â€�

An Anthem spokeswoman said the emails originated from Health Action Network, which is part of Elevance Health, Anthem’s parent. People

“Health Action Network has helped tens of thousands of Americans learn about relevant healthcare matters and take action on issues that affect them,� Anthem spokeswoman Emily Snooks said. “This effort in St Louis County is no different and is designed to educate the local community about the impact of higher healthcare costs on taxpayers.�

Kelsey Landis of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.