At a county commission meeting, staff presented a recommendation to move the county's employee medical, dental and vision coverage toward Equitable, citing lower employee-only premiums, a two-year rate guarantee and administrative simplification through a single consolidated bill. The discussion covered plan design differences, voluntary products that employees buy separately, and payroll-deduction procedures ahead of open enrollment.

A staff member presenting benefits options said Equitable's employee-only rate was materially cheaper than the county's current premium. The presenter told commissioners Equitable offered a two-year rate guarantee and a dental plan with a $2,500 annual maximum, higher than many competitor plans the presenter said typically carry $1,000 to $1,500 annual maximums. The presenter also said Sun Life's renewal quoted a large increase and that Guardian and other carriers remained in the packet for comparison.

The proposal emphasized administrative simplification: consolidating carriers so the county receives one bill instead of multiple invoices from different vendors. The presenter said that would reduce bookkeeping complexity for the treasurer's office and make reconciliation easier.

Commissioners and the treasurer discussed voluntary products such as Aflac and long-term disability. Commissioners clarified that many voluntary plans are individually underwritten and can continue directly with employees if the county stops processing payroll deductions for those policies. One commissioner asked whether long-term disability would be cheaper on the county's group plan than purchased individually; the presenter said group pricing can be less expensive for employees.

Staff also recommended continuing to pretax only medical, dental and vision premiums, and not pretaxing short-term disability, because pretaxing a short-term disability premium can create tax consequences when replacement income is paid to the employee.

Commissioners asked for operational decisions before open enrollment: whether to (1) permit outside vendors to enroll employees on payroll-deduction, or (2) require outside voluntary vendors to handle premium collection directly with employees. Commissioners emphasized the need for clear employee education during open enrollment and for the county's enrollment platform to display totals so employees do not unknowingly enroll in duplicate products.

No formal vote to adopt a carrier was recorded in the transcript. Staff concluded by reiterating the key tradeoffs: lower employee-only rates and administrative consolidation with Equitable versus other carriers that remain competitive on certain plans. Next steps discussed included finalizing vendor selections, confirming employee-education materials for open enrollment and coordinating with the treasurer on reconciliation procedures.