This is the second year in a row the county has been threatened with huge health care cost increases. Last year, the county was initially hit with a 6.7 percent increase, but they were able to whittle that down to 5.25 percent by adding a third higher deductible plan to the policy. The commissioners absorbed the entire $647,484 premium increase.
Human Resources Director Gary Sheets said claims are the driving force behind rate hikes. Last year, part of the increase was due to a single $5 million claim. Because of health care privacy laws, the county could not divulge what the claim was for or when it was made. From June 2013 through May 31 of this year, the county paid $14 million in premiums and the County Employee Benefits Consortium of Ohio (CEBCO) paid out $16.7 million.
This year the directive to staff was to keep the county’s portion of the increase to 3 percent. The county commissioners were given four options to consider, the unlikely scenario is to keep things status quo with the commissioners bearing the entire increase at a cost of almost $12 million, which includes the $1.6 million increase.
Other options include charging a surcharge for spousal coverage — at varying levels — and a $24 a month surcharge for employees who smoke. Davis estimates there are 267 smokers which would cut $76,896 off the premium hike. The largest number of county employees are enrolled in the “low family plan” that has a monthly premium of $1,419. The county pays $1,181 of the premium and the employee pays $237 so a 20 percent surcharge would cost an employee $47 extra.
Commissioner Don Dixon wants to know why the county shouldn’t consider dropping spousal coverage altogether. He and Commissioner T.C. Rogers are both concerned the private sector is going to start dropping spousal coverage which would add even more people to the county’s health plan.
“You’re going to have the private sector doing the same thing and if we sit here and pretend that’s not going to be an issue for the public sector I don’t believe our eyes are open,” Dixon said. “We’re going to drive more and more people to our plan and that’s not fair.”
Sue Vance, who is an administrative director for the county’s water and sewer department, was asked to work with Davis and county consultant Marcia Ryan on the insurance issue. She said in the past year the county paid nearly double on chronic claims from spouses than its own employees or children. She said she favors the surcharge option.
“If there is a spousal surcharge here I’m going to be looking at that, whether or not it makes sense to get off,” she said. “I think a lot of people will do that. Put that charge on there and I think market conditions will come into play and people will make the best decision for their families.”
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