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Van Buren County approves ACA-compliant health coverage; employer cost to rise about $24,000
Summary
County staff reported that switching to ACA-compliant plans through Blue Cross Blue Shield, brokered by McGriff Insurance, will affect 17 enrolled employees and raise the county's employer cost by about $23,963 annually; commissioners voted to approve the insurance arrangement and asked staff to identify the appropriate budget lines.
County staff presented health-insurance renewal options and told Van Buren County Court members that updating coverage to meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements will increase employer costs for 2025. Heather, a county staff member, told the court the county has 17 employees enrolled in health insurance: 14 on the base plan and 3 on a buy-up plan.
Heather said the county currently pays $773.33 per month per enrolled employee for the base plan. She reported a rate increase she described as 13.51% for the base plan and said commissioners discussed a buy-up plan increase with figures mentioned in the meeting around the mid-20s percent (one speaker referenced 22.94%). Heather told commissioners that making the coverage ACA-compliant will raise the employer side by about $23,963 a year.
Heather said the county groups employees by salary for deductible and contribution calculations and that the lowest full-time wage used in the ACA calculation is $14.50 per hour. She advised that a decision was needed in time to process payroll deductions and to make coverage effective Jan. 1; she said the county had received the rate information that morning and that staff will identify the specific line items from which to cover the increase.
Commissioners approved moving forward with the insurance renewal as presented. The meeting record notes that dental and vision rates did not increase.
The discussion included questions from commissioners about whether the county had funds available to cover the additional $23,963 and staff indicated the county would have to move money into the insurance line before year-end if necessary. Heather also said the county's prior broker had not kept the county ACA-compliant and that moving to the current broker and plan structure corrected that issue.
The court directed staff to return with a formal amendment identifying the budget line items and to process the change so it can be effective Jan. 1.
