Board votes to hold 2026 health insurance spending flat

The Chair opened a Grand Forks County budget meeting by identifying health insurance as the primary topic and, after discussion, the board voted to hold the county’s 2026 health insurance spending at the current budgeted level rather than accept a projected 20% increase.

A committee member moved “to hold our health care spending flat to 2026,” and the motion was seconded. The Chair said alternatives prepared by staff offered options to preserve continuity of coverage and that one option, described as an NDI plan, “would save us close to 1000000 dollars.” The Chair framed the action as a preliminary budgeting step: staff will later present plan details and the board will select a plan once more accurate October numbers are available.

Board members discussed trade-offs including plan type (HRA, HSA or other) and employee cost-sharing. One member cautioned that converting a prior 3% cost-of-living adjustment into step increases could add roughly $500,000–$600,000 to the budget, and that even with proposed 30% cuts to contracted services and special levies the group still faced a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar shortfall. The Chair noted a working figure in discussion of roughly $5,140,000 for the insurance line and referenced an estimated $665,000 additional cuts required under the scenarios discussed.

The Chair called the question; the motion passed unanimously. The board directed staff to continue refining plan cost estimates and to present more detailed numbers at upcoming meetings so members can select a specific plan and finalize the preliminary budget.

The meeting transcript shows discussion occurred with the Chair and at least two committee members; plan selection and exact vote counts beyond the announced unanimous voice vote were not specified in the record.