County staff recommends switching employee health plan to Anthem after bids show 0% increase

County staff reported a range of bids for the countys employee health benefits and recommended switching to Anthem Blue Cross after Anthem offered no increase to total premiums.

Speaker 3, a county staff member who led the benefits presentation, said an initial UnitedHealth quote came back at 16% before later re-evaluation dropped to 9%; Aetna declined to quote and Anthem "came in basically at 0%". Speaker 3 told the Board the countys plan is roughly 59% funded this year and said a multi-year trend of low claims is needed to stabilize rates and potentially secure future refunds or lower costs.

Why it matters: employee health benefits are one of the countys largest recurring expenditures and changes can affect both payroll costs and access to care for employees. Speaker 3 said Anthems plan structure carries fewer contingencies for refunds and offered a better long-term business model if the county records multiple low-claim years.

Financial and operational details: Speaker 3 said dental, vision and life plans also showed 0% increases; the total plan cost cited was about $2.35 million and staff estimated only about a $1,000 difference on that total under the Anthem option. Employee council was reported to be supportive of the change. Staff noted plan design and drug-list volatility remain a factor; speakers warned that medications can be added or removed from formularies frequently and that could affect employee out-of-pocket costs.

Next steps: Commissioners discussed the countys history of changing carriers and the disruption that causes employees. No formal vote was recorded in the workshop; staff said they would proceed with implementation steps consistent with commissioners direction and continue to monitor quotes during future renewals.