County staff recommend sticking with current employee health plan after 2.5% renewal

Speaker 8 presented the county's employee health insurance renewal, saying the carrier proposed a 2.5% increase for medical and a 2.5% increase for dental on the same plans. The presenter told commissioners Scurry County’s loss ratio is running near the break-even point — about 95–97% — and that recent changes (including voluntary dental benefits) have increased utilization.

The presentation laid out alternate plan options, showing how higher deductibles (for example, moving from $1,500 to $3,000) would lower premiums but shift costs onto employees. "If you doubled the deductible ... that's not gonna give you the savings to be able to do that," Speaker 8 said, and recommended against making plan changes this year.

Commissioners discussed claim patterns and high-cost claimants. Speaker 8 noted several previously large claims have rolled off and one new high-cost claimant appeared within the last two to three months; the speaker said the new claimant’s costs are primarily on the medical side and that pharmacy cost increases are expected to show more over time. The presenter also described the wellness program and a county-specific incentive that gives employees either one PTO day or a $50 gift card for completing an annual physical, and asked commissioners whether to keep or redesign that incentive.

No formal motion to change plans was made. Staff said they would return to the Friday meeting for any remaining questions and to finalize decisions.

The court moved on to other agenda items; staff will monitor claim trends and bring any required action back to a future meeting.