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Commissioners accept health-plan renewal with 8.5% increase; add compliance change from House Bill 1044
Summary
The board approved the Jefferson Health Plan renewal with an 8.51% increase after negotiation; staff projected annualized county costs near $3.2 million and added a required plan amendment to comply with House Bill 1044's premium protections for disabled first responders.
County insurance brokers presented the Health Plan renewal and a statutory plan change for commissioners' approval.
Chris Burton of Roland Companies said negotiations brought the renewal down to an 8.5% increase from an initial near-13% proposal and that the county's annualized liability is about $3.2 million based on 10 months of claims ($1.7 million to date). Burton said the county also received about $110,000 in pharmacy rebates that reduce net county cost. The board voted to accept the Jefferson Health Plan renewal.
Staff also presented a required wording change to the summary plan description after the recent enactment of House Bill 1044, which the presenters summarized as prohibiting a higher premium for a disabled police officer or firefighter than for an active employee. The board signed the updated plan documents to keep the county in compliance with the new law.
Why it matters: the renewal affects county benefit costs, employee premiums and the county's budget planning for 2026–27. The statutory change protects disabled first responders from higher premiums and requires an administrative update to plan documents.
Next steps: staff will finalize signatures and process renewal paperwork; the commissioners retained discretion about whether to pass health-cost increases through to employees in the budget process.
