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Suwannee County reviews 8% renewal increase for employee health plan; board to discuss contribution options July 15
Summary
County staff presented three models to cover an 8.4% renewal increase for employee health benefits, including keeping board contribution steady, freezing board share with employees covering the remainder, or having employees pay 3% of premiums; commissioners set further discussion for the July 15 meeting.
County staff and consultant Gallagher Benefit Services presented the Board of County Commissioners with options to address an 8.4% renewal increase in the county's group health insurance plan and asked commissioners to pick an approach ahead of the Oct. 1 renewal and open enrollment.
JD Kirls of Gallagher Benefit Services walked the board through three contribution models and several HSA (health savings account) contribution alternatives, showing the current total premium figures and how staff and employee contributions would change under each scenario. "What you have in front of you is 3 different HSA contribution options," Kirls said, explaining that one proposed new family plan would be cheaper for families but carry higher deductibles.
Kirls presented a baseline total premium figure tied to current enrollment and HSA contributions and described three board-level options: make no change to employee payroll deductions and keep the county HSA contribution; freeze the board contribution plus 3% with employees covering the remainder; or require employees to pay 3% of their insurance premium. He also presented two alternative HSA-contribution amounts ($135 and $107.55 per month) and the budgetary impacts of each choice.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about medical-loss ratios and the drivers of the increase. Commissioner White said the plan's claims were roughly equal to last year's premiums, which helps explain the premium spike; Kirls described the plan's medical-loss ratio and said it had been near 90'99% earlier in the renewal cycle, prompting the carrier's price increase. Kirls said the county covers about 420 employees under the plan.
No final contribution decision was made at the meeting. Commissioners agreed to continue the discussion and place the item on the July 15 agenda to allow time for follow-up and to complete open-enrollment preparations. "My thought was to give all the board members the information and then put it on for either the next or the following meeting to discuss and vote on," Commissioner White said.
