Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Employee Benefits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fremont County approves 2025 health plan renewals, stop‑loss change and telemedicine switch
Summary
County commissioners approved renewing Blue Cross Blue Shield and Voya contracts, a one‑time stop‑loss contract change that creates a short gap in runoff coverage, a change in telemedicine vendor to MDLive and benefit design updates effective July 1, 2025.
Fremont County commissioners on a unanimous vote approved renewal and design changes to the county employee health plan that take effect July 1, 2025, including staying with Blue Cross Blue Shield as third‑party administrator, renewing stop‑loss coverage with Voya under a new 12/18 contract, and switching the telemedicine vendor from Teladoc to MDLive.
The changes were recommended by the county’s Executive Health Committee. The renewals include an approximately 6% contract increase for Blue Cross Blue Shield; the stop‑loss change moves the county from a “paid” contract to a 12/18 runout arrangement intended to provide ongoing runout protection after a vendor change but that creates a limited coverage gap for claims incurred before July 1, 2025, and paid after that date.
County staff read Voya’s statement to commissioners that the current stop‑loss policy has no runoff coverage; as a result, “claims incurred prior to 07/01/2025 that are paid after 06/30/2025 will not be funded by the current Voya plan and become the sole responsibility of the Fremont County Government,” the memo said. The new 12/18 Voya contract would cover claims incurred between 07/01/2025 and 06/30/2026 and paid through 12/31/2026. Staff characterized the financial exposure as difficult to predict but manageable within current plan reserves.
The board also approved switching the county’s telemedicine vendor from Teladoc (current premium $3.25 per employee per month) to MDLive (proposed $1.00 per employee per month). Staff said MDLive will accept the county’s $10 co‑pay and offers an expanded mental‑health component.
Other approved plan document changes recommended by the committee include increasing the combined physical and occupational therapy visit limit from 40 to 60 visits per year, removing visit limits for certain severe diagnoses (for example, brain or spinal cord injuries) when supported by clinical need, lowering the generic drug co‑pay from $15 to $10, and raising the non‑preferred brand co‑pay from $55 to $60.
Commissioners moved, seconded and approved the Executive Health Committee recommendations as presented.
The plan changes and the stop‑loss contract shift were framed by committee members as a one‑time higher premium in exchange for longer‑term stability and runout protection; staff said they will monitor claims experience and return to the board if unexpected costs materialize.
