Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Employee Benefits Strategy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners approve GIS 2025 strategic plan; committee will study one health-plan alternative and remove a second from this year’s work plan
Summary
Porter County approved a multi-quarter strategic plan from health-benefits consultant GIS; the board asked the committee to study one alternative health-plan option (individual-coverage arrangement) and removed a reference-based pricing item from this year’s workplan.
Porter County commissioners approved a 2025 strategic plan from their benefits-consulting partner GIS (General Insurance Services) on March 11, 2025, and directed the county’s benefits subgroup to explore one alternate health-plan option while postponing another.
GIS adviser Candice Arvin presented the strategic plan and said the document is a “living, breathing” roadmap that lays out four focus areas including plan design, employee engagement, provider management and health-plan administration. Arvin said the consultant will prioritize a pharmacy benefit manager review and the county’s third-party administrator review in the second quarter and will continue vendor oversight throughout the year.
Commissioners discussed two alternate approaches listed in the plan under health-plan administration: (1) an individual-coverage reimbursement arrangement (ICRA) or similar individual-coverage option, and (2) a reference-based pricing model. Commissioners and staff recounted past negative experiences with reference-based pricing, including unexpected member bills and collection problems. GIS advised that reference-based pricing can reduce costs but often causes significant disruption to members and providers.
Commissioner motion language recorded in the meeting directed approval of the strategic plan and specifically instructed the subgroup to include item 7 (the individual-coverage alternative) under health-plan administration for study this year while striking item 8 (reference-based pricing) from this year’s work plan. The board voted to approve that motion. GIS confirmed the plan and subgroup work are included within their existing consulting agreement and no separate fee was required for these tasks.
Commissioners asked GIS to return updates on reviews — including pharmacy benefit and third-party administrator performance, stop-loss settings and dependent-verification audits — on the quarterly schedule described in the plan.
