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Commissioners back Anthem renewal, opt for 85/15 employee cost split to absorb most premium increase
Summary
After a presentation from a benefits consultant outlining drivers for a near‑20% renewal, the board agreed to stay with Anthem and to adopt an 85/15 employer/employee split for increased premiums; staff will hold open‑enrollment education to reduce avoidable ER use and support a $30,000 wellness allotment from Anthem.
Meriwether County commissioners on April 13 were presented with a 2026–27 health‑insurance renewal that staff said would increase total premiums by about $427,286. Benefits consultant Jacqueline Watson told commissioners that specialty drug pricing, rising GLP‑1 prescriptions, high‑cost claimants and administrative costs were the principal drivers of the increase.
"Specialty drugs, it's a big part of this current count… the cost of specialty drugs have risen over 15% annually," consultant Jacqueline Watson said, explaining why carriers delivered high renewal quotes. Staff reported carrier responses after solicitation: Anthem negotiated a 19.9% increase, Cigna returned quotes near 21.9%, and UnitedHealthcare quoted a 34% increase; Anthem remained the most affordable option with no network changes for employees.
Why it matters: the county covers benefits for 114 employees and must choose whether to absorb the full increase or pass part of it to staff. Staff recommended staying with Anthem to avoid network disruption and to preserve a $30,000 wellness allotment intended to reduce claims through education and biometric programs.
The board considered two cost‑sharing scenarios and voted to adopt option B, a roughly 85/15 employer/employee split of the increase. Under the chosen option, staff presented sample monthly employee costs (e.g., single coverage increases around $25.88 monthly) and said the county would absorb most of the cost to limit employee hardship.
Board members emphasized a need for open‑enrollment education. Watson recommended on‑site enrollers and wellness programming to reduce avoidable emergency‑room use and ongoing medical‑claim drivers: "...we have enrollers that will come on‑site, and they... educate each employee on what constitutes an ER visit."
Next steps: staff will implement open enrollment with education on appropriate care settings, finalize the Anthem renewal paperwork and have the chair and vice‑chair sign benefit documents as needed. Commissioners also asked staff to monitor high‑claim cases and return with utilization data in subsequent meetings.
