Committee establishes new "individual plus spouse" tier and will send resolution to Board

Committee members and staff debated several scenarios for adding an "individual plus spouse" premium tier and how that tier should be priced relative to existing categories. Staff (S2) presented three scenarios with sample premium-equivalent calculations and 2024 claims data to illustrate the fiscal impact.

Staff summarized the data and rationale: 2024 individual-plus-1 claims were about $604,000 allowed and the county paid $578,000; staff presented calculations showing per-paycheck increases for employees in different hire-date cohorts. S2 said the committee would forward a resolution to the Columbia County Board of Supervisors to adopt the new tier and establish premium equivalents for 2026, effective April 1, 2026: “We're gonna put in a resolution to the board of supervisors to adopt the tier of individual plus spouse and to establish the premium equivalents for 2026 effective 04/01/2026,” S2 said.

After discussion about proportionality between child and spouse rates and the impact on different bargaining units, the committee voted to keep individual-plus-child rates the same and to establish the new individual-plus-spouse tier; staff will place the resolution before the Board for formal adoption and finalize premium-equivalent figures in the fall when actual claims are available.