Pine County commissioners voted to keep employee health insurance rates unchanged for 2026 and to approve several related changes recommended by the health insurance committee.

The board approved renewal of life and disability contracts with Minnesota Life and Madison National, approved enrollment in the state paid medical family leave plan, and approved participation in the Blue Cross Blue Shield county‑retained pharmacy rebate program recommended by Gallagher, the county’s benefits consultant. "Approve renewing the 2026 life and disability contracts with current carriers, Minnesota Life and Madison National," a commissioner said before the motion was moved and seconded.

The board also approved ending the voluntary short‑term disability plan, a benefit that Gallagher and the HR manager said was primarily employee‑paid and that, with state paid‑family‑leave benefits, would provide little or no additional payout for most employees. Jackie Coifisto, HR manager, explained the rationale: "If someone is utilizing the paid family leave, the percentage of payment that they would get would sort of conflict with short term disability ... it's just not going to make any financial sense to have it."

Committee members had debated whether to reduce the county premium contribution; staff provided a fiscal estimate that a 1 percent premium reduction would save the county about $37,300 and save employees about $6,500. Commissioners chose to defer any premium change until the county's preliminary budget is finalized at the end of the month. The board voted to carry out the committee’s other recommendations at today's meeting.

The board instructed staff to continue working on insurance‑rate options and to include the insurance rate in the preliminary budget process; commissioners also discussed using fund balance and reinsurance options as levers to manage premium costs.