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Coryell County discusses insurance renewal, commissioners divide on employee cost-sharing
Summary
Commissioners reviewed renewal and alternative employee health-insurance plans for FY2025 and debated shifting contribution splits (current 60/40 vs. 50/50). Staff said one renewal scenario could save about $42,000 for the county while some commissioners warned higher deductibles would harm lower-income employees.
The Coryell County Commission Court spent a major portion of its special FY2025 budget workshop reviewing health-insurance renewal options and possible county-employee contribution splits.
County staff described several renewal and alternative plans, showing different deductible and coinsurance structures and modeling member costs. Staff presented a worked example of how deductibles and coinsurance would apply and said one renewal scenario could reduce premiums "about $42,000," a staff member reported. "I believe he said that it's about a $42,000 savings," staff explained while reviewing the renewal worksheet.
Commissioners pressed on affordability for employees and the distribution of costs. One commissioner said he supported a 50/50 county-employee split but cautioned against proposals that would place heavy out-of-pocket burdens on employees: "I told you I was okay with a 50 50," said a commissioner who favored limiting employee cost shifts, adding that larger deductibles could be particularly hard on single parents.
The court discussed three primary alternatives: (a) keep the current plan with limited changes, (b) renewal option with modest increases and a 50/50 split, or (c) an alternate with higher deductibles that staff warned would reduce county expenditures but raise employee out-of-pocket exposure. Staff ran side-by-side totals and described changes to co-pay levels (for example, office visits reduced to $20 in one plan) and coinsurance for imaging and outpatient procedures.
Commissioners asked staff to run the precise month-by-month impacts of moving from a 60/40 to a 50/50 split across the group and to report how much the county would save under each scenario. The court did not take a formal vote during the workshop; members requested more detailed numbers before the county manager files a proposed budget ahead of the statutory filing deadline.
