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Carroll County moves employee and retiree health plans to CareFirst; no contribution increases for 2026
Summary
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners voted to shift county employee and retiree medical and prescription coverage to CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, approve a CareFirst Medicare Advantage option for Medicare-eligible retirees and keep employee contribution rates unchanged for 2026. Contracts take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Carroll County commissioners voted to move the county's self-insured employee medical and prescription drug benefits and the county's Medicare retiree coverage to CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, the county's human resources staff said Thursday. The board approved three related actions: awarding a contract for group medical, prescription drug and stop-loss coverage for active employees and pre-65 retirees; awarding a group Medicare Advantage with prescription drug (MAPD) contract for Medicare-eligible retirees; and adopting the county's 2026 benefit plan designs and employee contribution rates.
County staff said the changes will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and are budgeted in the FY26 county budget. The county will continue to operate its active-employee medical plans on a self-insured basis but will transition the plan administration and network access to CareFirst; prescription coverage will be provided through CVS Health Pharmacy. Staff also recommended keeping the county's individual stop-loss attachment at $450,000 and said CareFirst offered a three-year administrative-rate guarantee and wellness credits that the county plans to use for employee health and communications programs.
Why it matters: Commissioners and staff said the switch responds to competitive provider and pharmacy discounts, anticipated better network access for employees and retirees in Maryland, and greater predictability for county budgeting of retiree plans. For Medicare-eligible retirees, the county will move from a UnitedHealthcare MAPD plan to CareFirst Advantage PPO; that arrangement is fully insured and sets a predictable monthly premium for budgeting and OPEB accounting purposes.
Details: Human resources staff said 98% of the county's currently used providers will remain in network under CareFirst and that the county will work with CareFirst to contact providers who are not in the network. For active employees and pre-65 retirees, staff recommended no plan-design changes for 2026. For Medicare retirees, staff noted several minor plan-design differences (for example, an inpatient mental health limit aligned to Medicare's lifetime maximum, and a modest change to hearing-aid allowances) and a two-year rate guarantee on the MAPD contract. Staff said CareFirst offered $330,000 in wellness credits for year one and $365,000 for years two through five to fund wellness initiatives and communications.
Board action and implementation: Commissioners approved the contract awards and the 2026 plan designs and contribution schedule during the Sept. 11 meeting. Human resources and the county's benefits consultant will run an open-enrollment and communications program from October through the end of the year; staff said CareFirst representatives and the county's consultant will help with transition support. Staff also said the county plans to offer in-person meetings and online materials to help employees and retirees with the change.
What's next: Open enrollment is scheduled Oct. 10'Nov. 7, and staff said they will publish new ID cards and digital access to insurance cards. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript for the motions; the actions were approved during the meeting.
