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Caroline County will absorb 2026 medical increase and switch to Delta Dental, board votes
Summary
After reviewing five options for handling an 11.5% projected medical-cost increase, the Caroline County Board voted to absorb the full county share (about $667,000) and separately approved Delta Dental with proposed enhanced dental benefits; open enrollment runs Feb. 4–17.
Caroline County supervisors voted on Jan. 13 to absorb the projected 11.5% increase in the county’s medical insurance costs for 2026 and to proceed with Delta Dental for the county dental plan.
A county benefits presenter told the board the total increase called for was about $1,019,000 across the plan’s participants and that the county’s share—if it absorbed the full amount—would be roughly $667,000. Staff presented five options ranging from the county absorbing 100% of the increase (option 1) to employees absorbing a larger share; supervisors debated the trade-offs between taxpayer impact and employee retention.
One supervisor moved that the county adopt option 1—so employees would see no cost increase—and the motion passed by voice vote. The board then heard a separate motion to adopt Delta Dental for the county’s dental plan. County staff said Delta’s Premier and PPO networks would both be considered in-network and that switching to Delta with the recommended enhancements would actually decrease county dental costs compared with staying with Anthem by approximately $19,000.
The dental enhancements described include raising the annual dental benefit and orthodontia lifetime maximum from $1,250 to $2,000 and extending orthodontic coverage to adults (previously limited to children 19 and under). Staff also reviewed continuity-of-care rules for ongoing treatments if coverage begins after March 1.
Open enrollment for employees was announced as Feb. 4–17; HR and Finance were directed to finalize vendor contracts, reflect the county’s share in the 2026 budget, and prepare enrollment materials for staff.
Quotes used in this article come from staff presentation slides and the meeting record; numbers reported reflect staff estimates provided during the Jan. 13 board meeting.
