Christian County Commission authorizes move to self-funded health plan, switches ancillary carriers

Presiding Commissioner called on county staff to present options for employee health insurance and ancillary benefits as the county faces sharply higher renewals.

Amber, a county staff member, told the commission the county’s 2025 medical-plan utilization was near 140% and that UnitedHealthcare returned a renewal that represented a 49% premium increase for 2026. Amber said the fully insured United proposal would cost roughly $1,900,000 in premiums and described an Anthem HSA quote the county received at about $1,200,000.

"The insurance...came back from United to insure us for 2026 with a 49% increase to our premiums," Amber said. She framed self‑insurance as an alternative that would let the county keep unused premium dollars in a local account and potentially earn interest while paying claims as they arise.

Staff presented an illustrative self-funded design administered by a third‑party administrator (TPA), identified in the meeting as 90 Degrees. Amber described fixed third‑party fees (displayed in the packet as approximately $544,000) plus a recommended reserve or cushion the staff estimated near $2,000,000 to protect the county as claims are paid from the self‑insured account.

Commissioners asked about plan design features intended to steer employees to lower‑cost care. Amber said the county clinic was deliberately built into plan design to reduce urgent‑care and emergency‑room use; she reported 13% of employees had used the clinic so far (the county’s internal goal was 10%). She also said pharmacy coverage will be part of the medical plan under self‑funding and staff had requested UnitedHealthcare’s specialty‑drug utilization data before finalizing plan design.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and the commission approved a motion to proceed with the change from UnitedHealthcare to a self‑funded arrangement administered by 90 Degrees TPA. The motion was recorded by voice vote as passing.

The commission also approved switching ancillary carriers: the county will move dental, vision and voluntary‑life coverage from Guardian to Principal. Amber said Principal’s voluntary life offering includes a $200,000 guaranteed‑issue benefit without evidence of insurability, which staff characterized as unusually favorable for law‑enforcement employees.

Staff said final plan documents and premium numbers will be presented to the commission when complete; open‑enrollment meetings were scheduled for Nov. 17–20 and employees will receive at least a week’s notice of finalized numbers.

What the commission approved was authorization for staff to proceed with contracting and implementation steps; the commission asked staff to return with full plan documents and signatures when the numbers are final.