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Pipestone County selects MetLife for Minnesota Paid Family & Medical Leave private plan; moves vision and voluntary supplemental plans to MetLife
Summary
The county approved MetLife as its private carrier for Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave and authorized related plan submissions to the state; it also approved moving vision and voluntary supplemental insurance (accident, hospital indemnity, critical illness) from current carriers to MetLife effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Pipestone County commissioners voted Aug. 12 to select MetLife as the county's private plan carrier for Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) and to authorize submission of the private plan application to the state, including the one-time nonrefundable $500 processing fee.
Charlotte Seager, the county's human-resources director, told the board that MetLife was recommended by the county insurance committee after presentations by Integrity Benefits and that the committee endorsed proceeding with MetLife. The board approved moving ahead with MetLife so staff can complete plan documents and submit the application to the state. Commissioners also approved selecting MetLife as the county’s vision carrier (transitioning from VSP) and moving the county’s voluntary supplemental products (accident, hospital indemnity and critical illness) from Cigna to MetLife; those changes are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Seager said the unions are still reviewing short-term disability and whether it will remain a county-provided benefit; that question remains under negotiation. She told the board MetLife’s platform will centralize claims and administration, which county staff and the insurance committee expect will simplify claims processing for employees.
Commissioners asked about local points of contact and the transition process; Seager said Integrity Benefits will facilitate the relationship and that the county anticipates a named contact with MetLife for ongoing administration. The board approved the MetLife selections and directed staff to submit the required application packets to the state and to proceed with implementation tasks for Jan. 1, 2026 plan changes.
Votes were by voice; formal roll-call tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript.
