Polk County commissioners debate TAC pilot for dependent premium assistance, raise liability and data concerns

Polk County commissioners on an agenda item about a TAC pilot program heard staff say the pilot appears to apply to dependent tiers (employee plus child or family) but not to spouse-only coverage, prompting questions about who would be eligible, how much it would cost and how stable the program would be.

Staff told the court that the county had received conflicting information from TAC and that the most recent clarification shows the program applies to dependent tiers — employees with children or family plans — but excludes employees who would seek assistance only for a spouse. County staff said they received the clarified data late and that several enrollment counts in TAC’s reports did not reconcile with Polk County payroll data.

The discrepancy matters because county enrollment is skewed toward employee-only coverage: staff reported 251 employee-only enrollments, nine employee-plus-spouse, 22 employee-plus-children and seven employee-plus-family on the county’s plan. Staff also cited…