Bonner County switches medical network to Regence paired with BCS stop‑loss; employee share set at 2.5%

Bonner County’s Board of County Commissioners voted July 15, 2025, in a special meeting with county human resources to switch the county’s self‑funded medical plan to the Regence (Regence BlueShield) PPO network paired with BCS Financial for stop‑loss insurance, set employee contributions at a 2.5% increase, and adopt several related vendor changes ahead of open enrollment beginning Aug. 1.

The vote follows a market solicitation led by Alliant benefits consultants Scott Burkhart and John Paul Dupin and a review of proposals from PacificSource, GEM, Blue Cross, and multiple stop‑loss carriers. Scott Burkhart said the consultants “moved your renewal from 10% down to 3%” after negotiating terms and securing BCS as the stop‑loss carrier. The board approved the recommendations unanimously among the commissioners present; one commissioner, Commissioner Williams, was absent.

Why it matters: county staff and consultants said the change would lower the county’s expected budget pressure compared with remaining on PacificSource. County budgeting documents shown at the meeting estimate medical spending rising from about $5.2 million in the current year to approximately $5.4 million under the proposed plan — a roughly 3.1% budget increase — versus a projected 10.2% increase if the county had stayed with PacificSource. Consultants estimated approximately $371,000 in annual medical cost savings from moving…