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Meriwether County keeps Anthem, adopts 85/15 split to cover 2026'27 insurance increase
Summary
After a presentation from Mark III consultants on rising specialty drug and chronic-care costs, the board approved staying with Anthem for 2026'27 benefits and voted to split the renewal increase 85% county / 15% employee.
Meriwether County commissioners on April 13 approved the county's 2026'27 insurance renewal with Anthem and set the employer-employee cost-sharing at an 85% county / 15% employee split.
Mark III's medical consultant, who identified himself as Dudson during the presentation, told the board that national trends ' particularly rising specialty drug costs and use of GLP-1 medications ' are driving premiums upward. He said the carrier initially proposed a 25.5% increase, which consultants negotiated down to a 19.9% renewal.
Dudson explained the county's claims profile and the strategies recommended to hold future costs, including targeted open-enrollment education, wellness program incentives and continued biometric interventions. He noted Anthem remained the most affordable option, would preserve the county's provider network for employees, and offered a $30,000 wellness allotment for the plan year.
After discussing several contribution-split options, the board approved the option described in the staff packet as option B (an 85/15 employer/employee split). Under that decision, staff recorded the monthly employee contribution increases for plan tiers: single coverage about $25.88 monthly; employee-and-spouse about $36.29 monthly; employee-and-children about $78.64 monthly; and family coverage about $201.70 monthly (figures shown in staff packet). The board majority said the county would absorb the bulk of the renewal to reduce the impact on employees.
Next steps: county staff will complete benefit paperwork and the chair and vice chair were authorized to sign benefit-related documents to finalize the renewal and prepare for open enrollment.
