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Story County approves FY27 benefits: premiums held flat, adds dental and disability improvements
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Summary
The board approved the FY27 employee benefit renewal to hold health premiums flat, add dental improvements and increase disability coverage; staff said the county will save about $16,000 annually by moving ancillary services to a new vendor and that voluntary options will be offered to employees.
The Story County Board of Supervisors approved the county’s FY27 employee benefits package on April 14, keeping medical premiums steady for employees and the county while adding several benefit improvements.
Jackson Webster presented the renewal details and said the county’s self-funded medical plan was in a position to hold premiums flat this year. The board approved not increasing premiums and accepted staff recommendations for ancillary benefit changes. The county will move some ancillary benefits to Mutual of Omaha, which staff said will increase benefit levels — including raising the weekly maximum for short-term disability from $500 to $1,500 and increasing the monthly maximum for long-term disability from $5,000 to $10,000 — while saving approximately $16,000 annually in premium costs.
Dental benefits will be enhanced with a CheckOut Plus feature that preserves the annual maximum for restorative work and the addition of adult orthodontic coverage. The benefits change includes voluntary coverage options (accident, hospital indemnity and similar products) available to employees through payroll deductions; staff noted a true open enrollment will allow employees to secure guaranteed-issue voluntary life coverage up to $150,000 without medical underwriting.
The board also approved small increases to flexible spending account limits—medical FSA rising $100 to $3,400 and dependent-care FSA increasing to $7,500—consistent with recent federal adjustments. Supervisors moved and seconded approval of the benefits package, and the motion passed with recorded ayes.
Staff said most changes take effect July 1 and that vendor and administrative setup will take some payroll-system work but should be seamless for employees overall.
