Aflac agent urges Woods County to restore supplemental benefits, highlights new rehab, app and higher critical-care payouts

Brenda Machin, an insurance agent from Clinton representing Aflac, urged the Woods County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 25 to allow Aflac to resume offering supplemental employee benefits to county staff and others in the county.

Machin told commissioners Aflac has added a mobile claims app that lets policyholders file claims and receive direct deposit, and said the company has broadened short-term disability and hospital benefits to support employees who seek treatment for substance-use or alcohol problems. "Our short term disability now is gonna come in, and if somebody checks themselves into a rehab and stays, we pay them after the 7 day waiting period," Machin said. She also said Aflac's hospital benefit pays $100 a day and can combine with short-term disability in certain cases.

Machin described benefit increases on existing critical-care policies that she said were implemented without raising premiums for current policyholders: she said a first-time critical-care benefit that had been $7,500 was raised to $25,000, and that adjustments were made to cancer benefits (from $5,000 to $7,500 first-time occurrence, she said). She also described a new accident policy that starts with a first-occurrence hospital payment she said begins at about $1,500, grows over five years to $3,500 and was introduced at a lower price than an older plan.

Machin emphasized local service and portability: she named local agents who could serve remote areas of the county, and said she would personally help employees file claims when needed. "You'll always have me," she said, adding that longtime staff in her office would assist county employees.

County staff and commissioners asked operational questions during the exchange about enrollment, premium comparisons and whether other vendors (identified in the discussion as American Fidelity and Fidelity) provide specific wellness or dental options. Machin said premiums were "very comparable" to competitors but did not provide formal rate quotes during the meeting.

No formal motion or vote to change the county's benefits vendor was recorded during Machin's presentation. Commissioners and staff indicated they would gather additional input and bring the matter back to the commissioners' table for a later decision.

Machin's remarks included references to prior vendor history: she said Aflac had been available to county employees in the past and that another vendor, Fidelity, had later become the provider for some county accounts. She also described outreach and on-site enrollment experience at county facilities.

Next steps mentioned at the meeting: commissioners and staff signaled they would consult further with offices and vendors and return to the topic at a later meeting; no procurement, contract or vendor-selection action was taken on Aug. 25.