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Commission approves county health and benefits renewal; asks staff to explore proshare interest and employee dental buy-ups
Summary
Okaloosa County commissioners approved the employee benefits package for the coming fiscal year, agreeing to budget half of a 15% medical premium increase and to use proshare interest to offset costs where feasible; the board directed staff to explore allowing employees to buy up adult orthodontia and to preserve the county—s current base dental
The Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners on July 1 approved the county’s employee-benefits renewal package for the coming fiscal year with direction to preserve base dental benefits and to use proshare interest to offset costs.
What staff proposed: Benefits staff said Florida Blue initially proposed a 23% increase for medical insurance but negotiated down to 15%; staff recommended the county budget half the increase and use proshare funds to absorb the remaining 7.5% so employees would not see a premium increase this year. For dental, MetLife returned a late renewal with a proposed 25% increase; staff proposed a two-plan option that would create a lower-cost base dental plan and offer an enhanced buy-up for employees.
Board action and clarifications: Commissioner Goodwin moved to approve the benefits package while keeping the county’s base dental plan at the present level of service, asking staff to use proshare interest to offset county costs and to pursue an employee buy-up option for adult orthodontia. The motion passed unanimously. Staff said they will competitively bid medical, dental and life plans in the next year and will report provider-network disruption and potential costs before finalizing options.
Why it matters: The county absorbs roughly $724,000 in added health-premium cost under staff recommendations; use of proshare interest was identified as an available funding source to reduce the immediate county budget impact. Commissioners sought confirmation of how the increases would distribute across enterprise funds and the general fund and asked staff to quantify the general-fund impact before the next budget cycle.
Next steps: Staff to (1) evaluate proshare interest as an offset, (2) pursue competitive bids for medical, dental and life insurance, (3) explore an employee buy-up for adult orthodontia, and (4) report back with provider-disruption details and exact fund impacts.
