Retiree billing transition sparks complaints; county staff say audits underway

Clay County officials told commissioners at a benefits workshop that a recent transition of retiree billing to a third‑party administrator caused implementation errors that affected a small number of retirees.

County staff said the billing function was moved to Employee Benefits Corporation (EBC) to centralize premium collection and reporting. The presenter described the vendor as a third‑party administrator that would send welcome letters, accept payments and provide consolidated reporting to the county. “This is the billing takeover began in February,” a staff member said; staff acknowledged a rocky start and said they have been auditing records to reconcile prepayments and avoid duplicate charges.

Commissioners relayed constituent complaints. One commissioner said a retiree whose husband retired from the sheriff’s office had been “double billed, you know, several times,” and that the retiree had paid three months and was still waiting for an update on a refund. Staff responded that some retirees prepayment data were not captured cleanly in the transfer and that the county is cleaning up records and issuing refunds where appropriate.

Staff emphasized that benefits were not terminated by EBC for nonpayment and that the county retains responsibility to terminate coverage in its HR system if a premium lapse occurs. They also described a 45‑day grace period for retiree payments collected by EBC and said EBC offers customer service Monday–Friday during business hours.

County officials described the scale of the problem as limited — commissioners referenced “a few” or “half a dozen” affected retirees — but said the county will continue reconciliation work and improve communication. Commissioners urged better advance notice to retirees when a vendor change would occur to avoid confusion and to guard against scam concerns when a retiree receives an unfamiliar letter requesting payment.

No formal disciplinary or contractual action against EBC was recorded at the workshop; staff said they are working with the vendor to resolve issues and will report back to the board.