Greene County absorbs 3% health‑plan premium increase; consultant details claims, telehealth rise

At a briefing for Greene County employees, benefits consultant Mike Scott of Barker Phillips Jackson Insurance reviewed the county’s health plan performance and said the county will absorb a 3% increase to the plan’s pool premium for the coming year, keeping employee premiums unchanged.

Scott said the plan’s 12‑month medical claims activity included about $25 million in billed medical claims, roughly $4 million in ineligible or coordination‑of‑benefits charges, and about $20 million in covered medical charges. After plan design and member cost sharing, medical claims paid were reported at about $6.4 million; prescription claims paid were about $2.3 million, for total paid claims of roughly $8.7 million in the period Scott presented.

Why it matters: The county’s decision to pick up the pool increase shifts roughly $266,000 of additional premium cost onto the county budget for the year, Scott said. He and county staff framed that choice as preserving the lower…