[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_25":26},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_27":28,"_29":30},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[31,74],{"_32":33,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":39,"_40":41,"_42":43,"_44":45,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},"mediaId",6374130,"mediaKeyId","2145061-cec509215b66ffb59c906cff0fb4d065","parentId",2145061,"title","LaSalle County OPEB liability rises about $5.4 million; actuary warns of larger 2025 impact from Medicare Advantage renewals","audioSeconds",1104,"startMs",215000,"endMs",1319000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145061-cec509215b66ffb59c906cff0fb4d065&start=215&end=1319","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145061-cec509215b66ffb59c906cff0fb4d065/thumbnail_215000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6374130/LaSalle-County/Illinois/LaSalle-County-OPEB-liability-rises-about-54-million-actuary-warns-of-larger-2025-impact-from-Medicare-Advantage-renewals","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6374130-f37c42ab41708c2d54aba087b5bfc230/orig.mp4?Expires=1770042134&Signature=g0vGdh39rmjQdaHJxy-6aNXifrGJjFmCZSuEzwEVZ4St7ucirtQmqn~4lXlKygibEim8laKGzWPHtje5f6Coil6H6NB3C0gKWCs7cIK3L5GXDpy1FJP2Z-RdNzKjj5lAQTPaocF392Sj85CbXVEN6kDmo6JWJ~78SK~zPO0VZH~hNOn3smEk0m6Kghf7IToBzezJoS5XnDZE0fqJoZIMALy-MHH2JlSDT9Bjkbv7Y1F6far~b~rWfUxpXrqFFZ2QF2tX2d6-NH9rESyyWebIqs3sAw2uu27EsQC4nMPZiaQkpYmOuSqpt~CfOT7jiAjFgljgUXECEDnLfaQterXkkQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","LaSalle County, IL","date","2025-01-23T17:44:25Z","article","Roman Lehar, the actuary who prepares LaSalle County's OPEB (other post-employment benefits) valuation, told the county's Insurance Committee that the net OPEB liability rose about $5.4 million — roughly a 9% increase — compared with the prior year.

Lehar said the increase was driven mainly by demographic experience, higher-than-expected medical claims for retirees and active employees, and partially offset by favorable interest-rate changes. \"The primary reasons for the changes in the liability would be demographic changes...your claims...and the interest rates,\" he said.

He gave the committee a breakdown of the drivers he quantified in the valuation: roughly $3.4 million of the increase was attributable to demographics (including several unexpectedly early retirements and lower-than-projected retiree mortality), about $1.2 million came from worse-than-expected claims experience, and favorable interest-rate changes reduced the liability by about $800,000. \"This report is required annually for your financial statements,\" Lehar explained as he opened his presentation.

Lehar flagged two items the county should monitor. First, a subset of employees covered under a law-enforced or contract-based retirement group identified in the discussion as \"MAP\" (law enforcement/union group) can retire earlier than other employees; a few MAP members retired at age 50 this year rather than at the later age the actuary had assumed, which materially increased liabilities. Committee members confirmed MAP employees can retire at 50 with 20 years of service. Second, Lehar said mortality experience this year was lighter than expected (fewer deaths than the actuarial table projected), which increases the cost because retirees are living longer than assumed.

Lehar also provided a caution about next year's projection: he said initial information from benefits renewals shows large increases in Medicare Advantage drug-plan renewals, and his early estimate for the 2025 liability would add roughly $16 million if that renewal experience holds. \"I'm estimating...about a $16,000,000 increase in the liability for next year based on just that large renewal increase related to Medicare Advantage for next year,\" he told the committee, and he emphasized that this is a heads-up for the next valuation rather than an amount that affects the current-year financial statements.

Committee members asked about management options. Lehar said the technical purpose of producing the OPEB valuation is to provide a number the county could fund if it chose to reduce the unfunded liability over time; \"you could...begin to fund this liability,\" he said, but added that most public-sector employers do not fully prefund OPEB. He also mentioned that changes to benefits or eligibility can reduce liabilities but noted legal and contractual constraints often limit changes that affect current retirees.

The committee voted to place the 2024 OPEB report on file. Doug Stackley moved to place the report on file and Craig Emmett seconded; the motion passed by voice vote.

Context and history: Lehar showed exhibit tables tracking the OPEB liability over several years. He noted the liability had been substantially higher several years earlier, citing figures the report shows for prior years (Lehar walked the committee through beginning-of-year liability lines that ranged from roughly $64 million in the most recent year back up to near $116 million at prior peaks). He also reminded members that changes such as the county's 2022 Medicare plan changes and eligibility tweaks in prior years contributed to earlier reductions in the OPEB liability.

Ending: Lehar and staff asked committee members to email any follow-up questions; Lehar said he would provide more detail on 2025 assumptions and costs at the next valuation. The committee did not adopt new policy actions at the meeting other than placing the report on file and directing staff to route follow-up questions to the actuary.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Insurance 1/23/25","oneSentenceSummary","Roman Lehar, the actuary who prepares LaSalle County\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000's yearly OPEB valuation, told the county Insurance Committee that the plan's net OPEB liability rose by about $5.4 million (roughly 9%) from the prior year and that demographic shifts, higher claims and early retirements were the principal causes.","taxTitle","LaSalle County, Illinois","taxId",59330,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_32":75,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":76,"_40":77,"_42":78,"_44":79,"_46":80,"_48":81,"_50":82,"_52":83,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":84,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":85,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6374125,"Horton Group: LaSalle County health plan costs rose in 2024 as large-claim activity spiked; committee accepts insurer briefing",5173,2027000,7200000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145061-cec509215b66ffb59c906cff0fb4d065&start=2027&end=7200","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145061-cec509215b66ffb59c906cff0fb4d065/thumbnail_2027000.jpg","/articles/6374125/LaSalle-County/Illinois/Horton-Group-LaSalle-County-health-plan-costs-rose-in-2024-as-large-claim-activity-spiked-committee-accepts-insurer-briefing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6374125-7344c06be790c6f52f7ca7b2483d5493/orig.mp4?Expires=1770042134&Signature=DPl5CBSee3tBCBJsjdn3pXkkcdRCXjlpqYxkrHd0Nyd4YtnLaimKIhklFnoL~c5v8l-sgd5C3-dqAL6wiTci2L4AralhM4ib40X8EsxRh16JqKea1~3cIf2I3~J82dK3d6zQPrj3I3NlN2t2q8OgCjjTvxVB4UQoQb7iGUwSYJ2TLqbyQaWnA1HWLO4hrU9t4H9VxQ-8nKJwoOoh8H-Q0nadu3RRi48NVdkxwXU8R-BtrMJsGzd7861GEq8l9US9a4kZXn1bOzz4fjDoy3s9ULWRRINcRywdLARcn3bvMdpnF-g2C8xPrHqmX1ptE2WCwQuvxNyu1TOx2OZnmiZvxA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Beth Ishmael and Mike Gulich of the Horton Group summarized the county health plan's 2024 performance for the LaSalle County Insurance Committee and recommended cost-containment priorities including continued use of the HealthJoy navigation app, monitoring specialty and gene-therapy costs, and reviewing pharmacy and reinsurance options.

The Horton Group reported the plan's year-over-year increase from 2023 to 2024 was roughly 12.5%, mainly because the plan had more high-cost members: 36 members had claims over $75,000 in 2024 versus 22 the prior year. The county's specific stop-loss (reinsurance) deductible is $150,000; Horton reported about $3.0 million in claims were reimbursed by reinsurance in 2024 and emphasized that the county's protection likely prevented much larger employer payments.

\"Our role as your broker consultant is to provide information. We represent you to the marketplace, not the insurance carrier,\" Mike Gulich told the committee. The consultants said the county's pharmacy program shows very high generic utilization (about 90%) but that specialty drugs and the new GLP-1 weight-loss agents are driving up pharmacy costs nationally and within the plan. Horton said specialty drugs accounted for about 40% of pharmacy spend and that a small number of members on specialty medication are the primary drivers of the large-claim experience.

Horton provided plan-level figures: per-member claim costs increased; per-capita claims were reported in the presentation (example: plan claim per capita ~ $12,402 for 2024 in the presentation charts), and the group had strong network discounts (reported net discount rates near 55%-58%) and 99.9% in-network utilization. Horton told the committee the county's Benastar retiree program enrollment has grown since 2020 and that retiree plan growth is one element county actuaries are monitoring.

The consultants recommended continued strategies already in place: aggressive market-shopping for administrative and reinsurance contracts, monitoring and promoting biosimilar and lower-cost drug alternatives, continued promotion of HealthJoy (Horton reported roughly $64,000-$65,000 in estimated plan savings from the tool during its first full year), diabetes-management and chronic-condition programs, and expanded Medicare education for employees approaching retirement. They also recommended negotiating renewal provisions to avoid \"new laser\" stop-loss assignments that can single out high-cost individuals on renewal.

Committee action: Committee Chair Nancy Urich asked for a motion to accept and place the health insurance report on file; a motion was made and seconded (mover recorded as Tom, seconder James Bailey in the meeting record) and the motion passed by voice vote.

Ending: Horton said they will continue to market pharmacy and administrative contracts and will supply more detailed renewal information and compliance guidance to county HR; the consultants also noted potential near-term risks from gene therapies and Medicare Advantage renewals that could affect 2025 costs.","Horton Group consultants told the LaSalle County Insurance Committee that plan costs rose about 12.5% in 2024, driven largely by an uptick in high-cost claimants and specialty pharmacy; the committee accepted the presentation and placed the health insurance report on file.","actionData","errors"]

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LaSalle County OPEB liability rises about $5.4 million; actuary warns of larger 2025 impact from Medicare Advantage renewals

Horton Group: LaSalle County health plan costs rose in 2024 as large-claim activity spiked; committee accepts insurer briefing