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Cleveland County committee weighs move to OPEH&W health plans; preliminarily cites about $250,000 in annual premium savings
Summary
The county Employee Benefits Committee on July 3 reviewed OPEH&W plan options as an alternative to HealthChoice, noting possible annual premium savings of about $250,000 and a timeline to narrow choices within four weeks and carry out three months of employee education.
Chairman Rod Cleveland updated the Cleveland County Employee Benefits Committee on July 3 about preliminary comparisons between the county's HealthChoice plans and options offered by OPEH&W Health Plan. He told the committee the OPEH&W plans operate on a July 1 fiscal year (the county's budget cycle) and can be implemented either by starting a plan in October and later aligning to July 1 or by switching immediately and providing a deductible credit to match current coverage levels.
Cleveland said the OPEH&W offering uses the Blue Cross Blue Shield network and generally appeared to offer greater pharmacy benefits and broader provider access than the county's HealthChoice options. The committee heard a preliminary estimate that switching to OPEH&W's equivalent of the HealthChoice High Plan could reduce county premium expense by about $250,000 annually. Cleveland framed the committee's role as preparing a recommendation for the Board of County Commissioners while protecting employee coverage for spouses and dependents and preserving benefit vehicles such as FSAs and HSAs where plan design allows.
Committee members discussed plan design choices, including whether to offer a single plan or multiple options to avoid steep premium increases for employees with families. The committee set a near-term timeline: narrow the options to three or four plans within about four weeks and spend the subsequent three months focused on employee education and plan comparisons. Staff will request updated figures showing last year's total county spending on employee health insurance (premiums and per-person costs) to support a full evaluation. Any premium savings identified are to remain within employee benefits, such as increasing the opt-out payment for employees who decline county coverage and receive insurance elsewhere.
The committee did not take a final vote on a plan change at the July 3 meeting; members tasked staff with collecting updated cost data and preparing materials for the next decision point.
