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Chase County approves switch to higher-deductible health plan projected to save about $118,000
Summary
Chase County commissioners voted unanimously to move the county’s employee Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage from a $600 deductible plan to a $2,600-with-copay option with an HRA buy-down, a change presented as yielding roughly $118,000 in annual premium savings.
Commissioner Jacci Brown moved and Commissioner Billie Muehlenkamp seconded a motion to select a $2,600-with-copay Blue Cross Blue Shield plan using First Concord as the HRA administrator for the 2026–27 plan year; the board approved the motion 3–0.
Mike Boden and Jessica Witting of the NACO Benefit Services Division presented the renewal options to the board and outlined the financial trade-offs. The county’s current plan carries a $600 deductible; the proposed $2,600 plan with a county-funded HRA buy-down would shift the deductible while the county covers the difference between $600 and $2,600. Boden and Witting presented an estimated annual premium savings of $118,000 and noted maximum deductible claims could reach $88,000 but were “likely closer to $35,000,” according to the presentation.
The discussion included a referenced option to offer a $3,500 HSA plan, but the presenters and commissioners agreed that adopting an HSA would be better timed for implementation at the start of a calendar or plan year; the board did not adopt that option at this meeting. The county will proceed with the $2,600-with-copay plan and First Concord as HRA administrator for plan year 2026–27, per the unanimous vote.
The change will alter employee cost-sharing and the county’s out-of-pocket exposure for deductibles; the board did not specify separate employee communications or an exact implementation date beyond the 2026–27 plan year designation.
