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Commissioners approve health‑insurance renewal; dental coverage to move to MetLife
Summary
The board approved a 3% renewal of the county’s Blue Cross medical policy with a buy‑down approach and moved dental coverage to MetLife (annual max $2,000 option). HR said MetLife expands out‑of‑network reimbursement but has billing challenges; benefits will roll over to Employee Navigator with passive enrollment.
Teton County approved its annual employee‑benefits renewals on Nov. 10, accepting a recommendation from Human Resources to renew Blue Cross medical coverage and to switch the county dental plan to MetLife.
HR reported a negotiated 3% increase on the Blue Cross medical policy and presented a self‑insurance buy‑down plan: the county will self‑insure the layer between the existing $7,000 stop‑loss and a $1,000 employee deductible (70% buy‑down was discussed in staff remarks). The result preserves a reasonable employee out‑of‑pocket cap (approximately $2,800 individual, $5,600 family under the presented structure).
On dental, HR recommended moving from Blue Cross to MetLife to improve out‑of‑network reimbursement for local dentists who do not bill Blue Cross. MetLife will operate on UCR (usual, customary and reasonable) and uses social‑security‑number identification rather than ID cards, HR said; staff warned that MetLife billing historically requires more hands‑on reconciliation and pledged support to employees who experience issues. The county will use passive enrollment through Employee Navigator so current benefit elections roll over automatically.
Commissioners moved and approved the recommended medical renewal and dental change by voice vote. HR said the dental switch includes a two‑year rate guarantee for the plan option selected and that eligible employees who decline initial enrollment may face waiting periods for some dental benefits.
Next steps: HR will finalize vendor paperwork and communications to employees; staff will assist with claims or billing reconciliation where necessary.
