Emery County Commission approves 9.8% increase for county medical coverage; dental, vision and life rates held

Emery County commissioners on Tuesday approved the county’s employee insurance renewal for plan year July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, accepting a 9.8% increase for medical coverage while leaving dental, vision and life insurance rates unchanged.

Intermountain Insurance Services broker Jeff Kelsey told the commission the county’s medical carrier, PEHP, initially proposed a higher increase but underwrote the request down to 9.8% after negotiations. “They did come out with a renewal increase more towards 11%, but we were able to have some discussions with underwriting and actuaries ... and they came back with a revision at 9.8%,” Kelsey said. He said the carrier’s current loss ratio for the group is about 1.30, meaning the plan is paying roughly $1.30 in claims for every $1.00 in premium collected.

Kelsey explained that dental, vision and life plans are on a rate-hold and will see no change for the upcoming 12 months. He also told the board that plan-year premiums begin July 1 and that plan parameter resets (deductibles, copays and out-of-pocket maximums) occur on a calendar year — a detail that county HR Director Mary Huntington later corrected during the meeting. “Jeff Kelsey said that our deductible and our coinsurance refreshes the January 1, but it actually refreshes July 1,” Huntington said, correcting the record.

A commissioner moved and the board voted to approve the renewal; the motion passed with aye votes noted in the meeting record and the vendor asked to obtain signatures to finalize the renewal.

Why it matters: The county’s choice to accept the renewal locks in higher medical premiums for employees and county budgets for the coming fiscal year while keeping ancillary coverages stable. Commissioners emphasized the broker’s work to negotiate the lower increase and noted the county remains in PEHP’s government pool, which spreads risk across multiple public entities.