Seneca County commissioners authorize board president to sign 2027 group retrospective workers—comp plan after presentation on claims and savings

The Seneca County Board of Commissioners voted April 28 to authorize Board President William Frankurt to sign the county—s 2027 workers—compensation group retrospective rating plan agreement with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio.

The action followed a detailed presentation by Kelly Lowry, the board—s third-party administrator representative, and remarks from the county—s managed care representative about medical-cost controls. Lowry told commissioners the county is "on track for about 12 claims" in 2026, roughly half the number reported in the two previous years, and that two large claims that aged off the four-year experience window reduced the county—s modified losses by $154,000. "That's a really, really good trend," she said.

Lowry explained the bureau that sets premiums uses a four-year claims window and that Seneca County—s total modified losses for the period she reviewed were about $177,000 compared with a peer expectation of $206,000. She described program options available to the county——group rating, group retrospective (the county—s current program), individual retrospective, and self-insurance—and reviewed historical refunds the county has received under the group retrospective approach.

Representing the managed-care organization, Dustin (recorded in the transcript as "Dustin Napper with Sedwick MCO") described the MCO—s role in coordinating medical care, securing records and return-to-work information, and negotiating provider payments. "My organization's role as the MCO, the medical side, is to coordinate medical care," he said, noting that MCO-negotiated payments and applicable fee schedules reduced billed medical charges substantially in the county—s reported period.

Lowry quantified potential savings tied to safety interventions: eliminating slips, trips and falls would reduce the county—s premium by an estimated $36,975 annually; cutting those incidents in half would save about $18,500 per year. She also described the timing for premium-setting and the need for a resolution to enroll and authorize a signer for the 2027 program.

The resolution authorizing the president to sign the group retrospective agreement was introduced and adopted during the meeting; the vote was recorded as affirmative by the board.

The board did not adopt changes to the county—s program at the meeting beyond authorizing the signature; commissioners discussed continuing with the group retrospective option and noted staff will finalize the administrative paperwork. The county administrator and Lowry said the formal enrollment form and a resolution are required to complete the process.

Next steps: county staff will complete the enrollment paperwork and present any follow-up contract documents, as needed, with timing tied to the bureau—s premium schedule.