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Lake County told medical premiums will rise about 18.9% for plan year 2027
Summary
County HR and broker Alliant told supervisors the county’s medical premiums will increase about 18.9% (dental 11.5%) for plan year 2027, largely driven by high utilization and expensive prescriptions; the board asked staff to explore mitigation and report back.
County Human Resources and the county’s broker, Alliant, told the Board of Supervisors that health‑insurance costs for plan year 2027 will be substantially higher, with medical premiums rising about 18.9% and dental costs rising about 11.5%. Erondi Campbell, a human resources analyst, opened the presentation and said employees are using more care and fewer dependents are enrolled, which raises average per‑person claim costs.
Tom Shear, a benefits consultant with Alliant, said the 18.9% increase for Lake County translates to roughly $2.5 million. “That 18.9 is still about 2,500,000,” Shear said, citing high utilization, expensive specialty drugs and pharmacy inflation as drivers. Shear told the board the Prism purchasing pool’s overall renewal would have been almost 16% this year before the pool removed weight‑loss GLP‑1 drugs from coverage; that action reduced the pool renewal to about 10.7% but still left Lake County with a larger, county‑specific increase.
County officials and presenters pointed to several local factors that magnify the county’s increase compared with the pool average: a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, growth in both the frequency and intensity of care, and a low level of dependent enrollment that raises the average age of covered employees. The vice chair noted the county has about 708 employees enrolled and only about 25 family enrollments, warning that further family losses would worsen the pool’s imbalance.
The presentation was informational only; there was no formal vote. Board members said they had consensus to pursue further analysis and mitigation options and directed staff to return with recommendations on budget implications and possible supports for employees.
