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Story County board approves FY26 employee benefits renewal with 2.5% medical rate increase
Summary
The Story County Board of Supervisors approved the county's FY26 benefit renewal, including a 2.5% increase to the county-funded medical premium; dental and vision premiums remain unchanged. Staff said reserves and stop-loss protections make the plan sustainable under current projections.
The Story County Board of Supervisors on April 15 approved the county's fiscal year 2026 benefit renewal, adopting a 2.5% increase to the county-funded medical premium while leaving dental and vision premiums unchanged.
County staff and BenefitSource representative Jackson Webster told the board the county's self-funded plan has performed better than budgeted in recent years and that the recommended increase aligns closely with Wellmark's suggested rates. "Our plan has been performing well for a number of years now," Webster said. "We are proposing a 2 and a half percent adjustment to the rates that we fund to the insurance pool throughout the course of the year."
The county's medical claims rose modestly this year, driven by a small share of high-cost claimants. Webster said about 20% of members accounted for roughly 85% of medical claims. He also highlighted the plan's comparatively generous design. "The plan designs that we have at the county are pretty phenomenal," Webster said, noting out-of-pocket protections and affordability for employees.
County staff reported the dental reserve is small but healthy and that dental premiums will remain the same. "We have just shy of, like, a 50,000 in our dental reserve," a county staff member said. For medical reserves, staff reported roughly $5,300,000 in fund balance supporting the self-funded plan and said county stop-loss protections would limit the county's exposure if unusually large claims materialize.
The renewal packet on the board's agenda also outlined other benefit items: life insurance with New York Life will continue without changes; health flexible spending account contributions are capped at $3,300 in 2026; dependent care FSA limits remain $5,000. The county indicated stop-loss and administrative fees have increased by more than 2.5%, but after analysis the county recommended the modest 2.5% medical premium adjustment.
The motion to approve the FY26 benefit renewal carried on a voice vote of the board and the renewal was adopted.
Board members did not request additional plan-design changes and said staff could return with more detailed actuarial or reserve scenario analysis if the board wanted to "get in the weeds." The board adopted the renewal during its regular meeting on April 15.
