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Clinton County faces tight 2026 budget as rising health‑insurance claims outstrip premiums
Summary
County officials told the council that health‑insurance claims exceeded premiums by roughly $900,000 in 2024; the county expects a large renewal increase and has budgeted only a 10% premium increase for planning, leaving a shortfall unless plan design or employee cost‑sharing changes.
County leaders told the Clinton County Council that rising health‑insurance claims and lower interest income leave little room in next year’s budget for cost increases.
Alan, a county council member leading the budget discussion, summarized the fiscal picture and said the county is preparing for a large health‑insurance renewal. “For 2024, the full 12 month period, we paid out or the insurance company paid out a little over $3,000,000 in claims, while we only paid in $2,100,000 in premium,” he said, adding that the trend continued through the first five months of 2025. “So that does not work well for the insurance company. So they are going to ask for more money.”
The nut graf: after accounting for a 4% levy‑growth cap (which produces only a modest additional levy) and an expected $300,000 drop in interest income, the county has only a small amount of new revenue available; projected health‑insurance premium increases could exceed those resources unless the county changes plan design, increases employee contributions, or identifies other savings.
Alan told the council his office modeled a 4% levy growth and reported an incremental levy increase the council could use for budgeting, but he said that expected declines in interest income (about $300,000) and dramatic increases in health‑insurance costs will largely offset that gain. County staff reported monthly plan performance showing roughly $3.0 million in claims paid in 2024 versus $2.1 million in premiums received; the first five months of 2025 continued a similar adverse trend. The county is currently fully insured and therefore does not retain claim risk beyond its premium payments.
The county has issued a request for proposals and expects renewal quotes from insurers; staff said Anthem (which acquired IU Health plans) is likely to provide an early renewal estimate because Anthem already has the county’s data. Alan said last year’s Anthem quote was up 49% and that the county is preparing the budget assuming a 10% premium increase to be conservative. The insurance committee was scheduled to meet on the 26th to review renewal offers.
Council members asked about plan changes the county could adopt to limit cost: increasing employee deductibles or cost sharing, offering a defined employer contribution and letting employees buy coverage on the marketplace, or modifying wellness incentives. Alan said those are all on the table and emphasized that the county’s budget planning should assume a constrained premium increase (he cited a 10% planning level) while the insurance committee identifies a plan that fits the adopted budget.
Other budget pressures the council noted included the loss of some property‑tax replacement credits after 2027 because of SEA 1 and uncertainty about whether portions of redistributed local income tax for fire/EMS can be retained by the county. The county said it will follow up with state contacts on legislative language and with the consultant on parcel‑level effects.
Ending: County officials said they will await insurer renewal quotes and the insurance committee review before making final budget‑year recommendations to the council. The council advised department heads to prepare conservative budgets and be ready to consider plan design or cost‑sharing changes to contain the health‑benefits expense.
