County raises employer health contribution, reviews four plan options for employees

Board members reviewed four plan options that varied by deductible, coinsurance and maximum out-of-pocket costs. The plans discussed included a $500 deductible plan with a $1,500 maximum out-of-pocket, a $1,000 deductible option with a roughly $3,000 out-of-pocket maximum, a $2,000-deductible plan with higher coinsurance and a high-deductible option with a $3,500 deductible. Transcript wording on some dollar amounts was garbled; the board asked staff and the insurer to review final plan documents before enrollment.

The chair said the county’s current monthly employer allowance for insurance is $1,300 and that the board would increase it to $2,100 per month, an $800 increase. "So that is a real good benefit for our employees," a committee member said. The change was discussed as effective Jan. 1; retirees under 65 may be eligible to enroll, while retirees over 65 were not eligible to be covered by the county plan.

"So that's $800 more a month in benefits that the county supply," the committee member said during the discussion.