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Broker recommends moving vision and ancillary plans to reduce costs, absorb COBRA exposure
Summary
A broker told the Williams County commissioners that the county was not administering COBRA for vision and presented options: move vision to CEBCO (fewer plan options) or to Guardian (maintain benefits, two-year rate lock, possible savings); the broker offered to absorb COBRA administration costs if the county moved ancillary lines to Guardian.
Andres, O'Neil & Lowe benefit consultant Beth Pool told Williams County commissioners on April 30 that the county’s existing approach had not been administering COBRA for vision coverage and presented several options to address the gap.
Pool reviewed three options: keep vision with the current carrier VSP for minimal disruption; move vision into CEBCO, which would integrate COBRA for medical/dental/vision but would impose limitations (no dual-tier option, lower frame allowances and a two-year frame frequency); or move vision and ancillary voluntary lines (vision, voluntary life, short-term disability, accident, critical illness) to Guardian, which the broker said could mirror the present VSP plan design, secure a two-year rate lock, and produce lower rates in most scenarios.
Pool said Guardian could offer guaranteed-issue windows for voluntary life that would allow employees to obtain higher guaranteed coverage without medical underwriting. She said Andres, O'Neil & Lowe would cover the incremental COBRA administration costs if the county moved vision and ancillary plans to Guardian and integrated enrollment with the county’s employee navigator portal to reduce administrative friction.
Commissioners asked how many employees were enrolled and whether vision remained voluntary and employee-paid; Pool said roughly 200 employees use VSP and that vision is 100% employee-paid and not tied to medical enrollment. Commissioners asked for a single-tier rate scenario (eliminating the current high/low option) to see if consolidating onto a single high plan would lower costs further; staff also asked Pool to confirm age-reduction schedules and transition-lens coverage. Pool provided a non-discrimination testing recommendation (to check benefits do not favor highly compensated employees), with a one-time cost estimate ranging roughly $585 to $2,470 and a frequency recommendation of every three to five years.
No formal procurement action was taken at the meeting. Commissioners directed staff to obtain single-tier rate details and clarifications on plan design and to follow up on the COBRA and non-discrimination testing options.
