Custer County board votes to leave CTSI for new workers’ comp and employee-benefit arrangements

CUSTER COUNTY, Colo. — The Custer County Board of County Commissioners voted Wednesday to end parts of its coverage with the County Technical Services, Inc. (CTSI) pool and to adopt new carriers and structures for workers’ compensation and employee health benefits beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The board voted separately to terminate CTSI workers’ compensation and CTSI medical/dental/vision/life coverage effective Dec. 31, 2025, and to accept new vendor quotes and a partially self-funded structure for benefits.

County officials said the changes are intended to give the county more hands-on management of claims and to create long‑term incentives to lower costs. The board’s action included a motion to accept a Pinnacle workers’ compensation quote and to pursue state “cost-containment” certification, and a separate motion to move medical, dental and ancillary benefits to a captive/partially self-funded arrangement using Aetna (medical network), Delta Dental (dental) and other selected vendors.

Why it matters: County officials said the CTSI renewal would have raised premiums about 8–9% and that CTSI’s pooled structure limits the county’s visibility into claim drivers. Commissioners and staff described the new approach as one that keeps unspent reserve funds in a county-controlled internal service fund and allows the county to target safety and return-to-work programs that could reduce future claims and premiums.

Details of the actions and rationale - Workers’ compensation: Robert Smith, who led the briefing, reported that Pinnacle’s workers’ compensation proposal comes with more active on-site claim management, an employee portal and frequent department-level engagement. Smith said Pinnacle’s initial quote was higher than CTSI’s renewal but noted the county could pursue state cost-containment certification that reduces future premiums by 5% once achieved. The board voted to terminate CTSI workers’ compensation effective Dec. 31, 2025, and to accept Pinnacle’s quote with coverage starting Jan. 1, 2026.

- Medical, dental, vision, life and voluntary ancillary benefits: The board voted to terminate its CTSI County Health Pool coverage for medical/dental/vision/life and to end ancillary contracts with American Fidelity, effective Dec. 31, 2025. The county accepted captive-resources (partially self-funded) pricing using Aetna for the medical network and Delta Dental’s expanded network for dental; the board also accepted quotes for life, disability and voluntary products (short‑ and long‑term disability, accident, critical-illness, hospital) with Equitable and selected vendors. Commissioners approved using an employee‑navigator enrollment system for open enrollment beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

- Expected financial mechanics: Staff described a partially self-funded or internal-service fund that the county would seed and use to pay claims up to an agreed stop-loss threshold; claims above that amount would be covered by reinsurance. Robert Smith presented modeled outcomes showing potential annual savings of roughly $48,000 in a typical year and up to $149,455 if claims match actuarial expectations; those unused funds would remain in a restricted county account for future benefits or employee health programs.

- Employee experience and service: Smith and broker staff emphasized differences in vendor service model and employee communications. Smith cited repeated complaints about prior adjuster interactions and said Pinnacle and the recommended benefits vendors provide more active claims management and employee portals so workers can track claims and appointments. “Pinnacle is very active in coming out and spending time with each department,” Smith said during the briefing.

Board votes and implementation steps - The board voted to terminate CTSI workers’ compensation and to accept Pinnacle’s workers’ compensation quote effective 01/01/2026 (motions passed; roll calls recorded). The board also voted to terminate CTSI medical/dental/vision/life coverage and ancillary American Fidelity products effective 12/31/2025, to accept captive-resources/Aetna pricing for the medical plan effective 01/01/2026, to accept Equitable for voluntary products, to accept Delta Dental for dental, and to use the Employee Navigator enrollment platform. Staff said they will complete carrier paperwork and enrollment steps directly with the vendors and asked the board to authorize those administrative steps.

What the board did not decide or could not yet quantify - Staff said cost-containment certification is a multiyear process and the premium reductions tied to that certification would not be immediate. The board did not approve a precise employee premium-share change in public session; staff said those specifics would be worked into plan documents during implementation.

What happens next - Staff will finalize contracts and implementation paperwork with the selected carriers and administrators, complete the mechanics of the internal service/captive fund and begin employee enrollment and communications for plans effective Jan. 1, 2026. The county will continue liability and property coverage through CTSI; the board’s actions applied only to workers’ compensation and employee-benefit programs.

Ending note - Commissioners framed the decisions as a means to gain clearer data on claim drivers and to put the county in a position to reinvest unspent funds into employee-focused programs and safety initiatives rather than leave those reserves in a broader pool where the county has less visibility.