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Committee approves Humana Medicare supplement option for county retirees; plan fully participant-paid
Summary
The Human Services Committee authorized a contract with Humana to provide 2026 Medicare supplement coverage for Medicare-eligible retired or disabled employees and surviving spouses; staff said the plan is fully insured and paid entirely by participants.
The Kane County Human Services Committee voted Wednesday to authorize the county to contract with Humana Inc. to offer a Medicare supplement plan for Medicare-eligible retired and disabled employees and surviving spouses for 2026.
Jamie explained the choice and the legal requirement: "state pension code does require that, local government provide continuing benefits for, employees that are that, leave employment with retire with, pension as well as disabled employees and their surviving spouses. ... So this is the Medicare supplement that we provide pursuant to that." She added that the county is required to offer coverage but is not required to contribute to the premium.
Staff emphasized the plan is fully insured and participant-paid: "The participant pays entirely for it," Jamie said, noting premiums are set by Humana and that the county's administrative role is limited to collecting premiums through participants' IMRF pension deductions. Jamie said about 42 participants currently subscribe to the Humana plan.
Motion and vote: the motion to authorize contracting with Humana was made by Lewis and seconded by Greipe; the committee recorded affirmative votes and approved the authorization.
Why this matters: the change formalizes the 2026 vendor for the county's Medicare supplement offering and confirms the program imposes no direct premium cost on the county. Staff noted the county does currently apply a 10% county premium contribution for participants under age 65 with 15 or more years of service on the self-insured plan; that practice is separate from the Medicare supplement arrangement.
Ending: Staff will execute the vendor contract and continue to collect premiums via IMRF deductions for participants who elect the Humana plan.
