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County staff: self‑funded health plan performing; pre‑renewal shows 6.05% increase estimate
Summary
Jeff French presented a high‑level update on Barron County’s self‑funded health insurance plan, reporting early 2025 performance and a pre‑renewal projection showing a roughly 6.05% cost increase.
Jeff French presented a high‑level update on Barron County’s self‑funded health insurance plan on May 19, summarizing 2024 experience and early 2025 performance and outlining renewal considerations.
French said the plan’s funding and loss ratio finished 2024 at about 87.2 percent and that through the first three months of 2025 the loss ratio trailed to 79 percent. He reported a pre‑renewal projection that, if renewed at current terms, would show a 6.05 percent increase—about $448,802—which he described as favorable compared with market double‑digit increases.
French credited pharmacy rebates, mail‑order prescription programs (Rx and Go) and specialty‑drug management (OptiMed) with substantial savings: Rx and Go mail orders rose and produced roughly $52,095.81 in member savings in the January–March period, and French reported OptiMed plan savings of about $223,183. He said those program savings, combined with strong utilization of mail‑order options, materially improve the plan’s outlook.
French also noted the county increased stop‑loss insurance and that the plan seeks to build reserves; the benefits fund held nearly $4 million, with a stated goal of reaching about $5 million in reserve. He said Tim Deaton of the Horton Group will return in August or September to present more detailed renewal negotiation options and that supervisors may be asked to go into closed session to give direction on negotiating renewals with stop‑loss and drug carriers.
Rachel (benefits manager) described overall employee reception as generally positive and said the new programs had been embraced. “I think overall, it is a good plan,” she said. Board members had no immediate objections; French said he and Horton Group staff will return with further analysis later this year.
No plan design changes or formal contract approvals were adopted at the May 19 board meeting; staff recommended further review and possible closed‑session direction for negotiation.
