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Houghton County joins WMHIP pooled health plan, estimates about $300,000 in savings
Summary
The board approved Resolution 23-21 to join the Western Michigan Health Insurance Pool for at least three years; county officials said participation could reduce costs by roughly 19% (about $300,000) and a WMHIP representative will be onsite Nov. 27''28 for enrollment.
The Houghton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 14 to join the Western Michigan Health Insurance Pool (WMHIP) for a minimum three-year commitment, a change officials said would reduce the county's health-plan costs by roughly 19%, or about $300,000.
Administrator Benjamin Larson told commissioners that Marquette County, the Western UP Health Department and the Keweenaw Road Commission are already WMHIP members and that the county would be eligible to enroll employees with a WMHIP representative (identified only as "Mike") scheduled to be at the courthouse Nov. 27 and 28 to assist sign-ups. Larson said details about how savings would be allocated to employees or the county budget would be discussed later.
The board approved Resolution 23-21 by a roll-call vote: Commissioners Glenn Anderson, Roy Britz, Tom Tikkanen and Gretchen Janssen voted yes; Joel Keranen was absent. The resolution authorizes the county administrator or CFO to execute membership documents and appoints trustees to the WMHIP trust, and it binds the county to a minimum three-year participation period.
The resolution references the Public Employees Health Benefit Act, Act 106 of 2007, and notes WMHIP has received a certificate of registration from Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services. The board did not adopt detailed language in the meeting about employee-level benefit changes; Larson said follow-up meetings would cover enrollment mechanics and any employee-facing provisions.
Next steps: administrators will complete enrollment paperwork and provide employees access to in-person sign-up sessions on Nov. 27''28. The county did not specify the exact annualized dollar amount of savings beyond the 19% estimate presented at the meeting.
