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Commissioners advance benefit-vendor changes, approve MetLife package in principle
Summary
Staff recommended terminating American Fidelity for voluntary enrollment, moving enrollment administration to CBIS with MetLife product offerings (dental through CareFirst, reduced AD&D rates, voluntary products), and to keep the CareFirst medical plan unchanged for the coming year while soliciting proposals for the next plan year.
County staff presented several personnel and benefits items (agenda items g–m) that advance a planned transition of benefit vendors and pension changes for correctional employees.
Chris (speaker 9), speaking for human resources/benefits, summarized the transition plan: terminate American Fidelity for voluntary enrollments; have CBIS (the county’s broker) administer enrollments and pursue MetLife proposals for a three-part package that includes CareFirst dental with equivalent coverage at lower employee cost, a roughly 12% reduction in AD&D life-insurance costs, and continued voluntary product offerings similar to those previously provided.
Chris described the medical plan through CareFirst and recommended keeping the current plan design for plan year 27 while soliciting proposals for the following year. He said administrative fees for the base medical plan are increasing by about 3%, roughly $9,000, and that CareFirst’s pharmacy guarantees should increase rebates and reduce net prescription costs depending on utilization.
Why it matters: changes in benefit vendors affect employee out-of-pocket cost, county administrative workload and long-term plan pricing. Staff framed the changes as budget-neutral improvements in employee cost and broker responsiveness.
What’s next: commissioners were asked to approve the termination of American Fidelity and to authorize implementation of the MetLife/CBIS package and the CareFirst plan documents; staff will solicit additional proposals for the next plan year.
