County shifts to partially self‑funded health plan; employees must enroll by Nov. 25

Human resources staff told the board on Nov. 19 that Custer County is transitioning some employee benefits from CTSI to a partially self‑funded model managed through an internal service fund and using Pinnacle for workers' compensation administration.

The HR representative (on the record as Unidentified Speaker 8) said all employees must access the Employee Navigator online portal and select or confirm one of three medical plans and any dental/vision options; the transcript lists a portal closing date phrased as the "20 fifth" of the month (interpreted as Nov. 25). The speaker stressed that even employees who want to keep current coverage must complete the enrollment step in the portal.

HR described the financial mechanics: instead of sending claims dollars to CTSI, the county will fund an internal account and pay claims from that account; the county set funding at the actuaries' estimate of maximum exposure so the plan can use any savings later to moderate increases. The HR representative also noted CTSI had proposed an 8% increase on medical/dental; county staff said the county’s chosen approach aims to reduce future increases by retaining savings locally.

The board was asked to schedule face‑to‑face enrollment sessions during the week of Dec. 8 and HR said two onboarding recruitments are in final process for DHS positions. HR also noted ongoing work to convert billing portals and set class codes with Pinnacle for workers' comp underwriting.

The board took the HR update as informational and instructed HR to continue outreach to enrolling employees.