Committee approves 2027 health-plan design: employees absorb slight cost shift, stop-loss deductible doubled

County staff presented the recommended 2027 design for the self-funded employee health plan and the Administration Committee approved the plan design on July 14.

Leaf summarized actuarial work showing a baseline 7.2% increase in total plan expense driven by claims experience. To reduce the impact on premiums, staff proposed a one-point shift in the employer cost-share (from 89% to 88%) as part of a previously disclosed three-year alignment with regional benchmarks and increasing the specific stop-loss attachment from $175,000 to $350,000 per claim. Leaf said those two changes together are expected to bring the net increase down to roughly 3–4.5% depending on final stop-loss quotes. "The actuary based upon our claims experience from last year... expect that to be about 7.2%," Leaf said, describing the rationale for design changes.

Supervisors asked about downside scenarios if multiple very high-cost claimants occur; staff noted the health-insurance fund balance target of roughly $2.5–$3 million would absorb variability in most years, and that the county has only had one year since 2019 with more than five claimants above the lower threshold. The committee voted unanimously to approve the plan design; premiums and final stop-loss premiums will be finalized once quotes are returned later this summer.