Insurance hikes may drive county employees away

Gazette Reporters

Rising costs for receiving health insurance through Whitman County may drive away some of the county’s best employees, county officials told commissioners Monday morning.

County commissioners are considering leaving the Washington Counties Insurance Fund.

The county has offered employees insurance through the fund for several years, but saw rate increases of almost 25 percent this year after the funding pool which pays insurance claims folded and was absorbed by Premera.

Some of the new options would increase the out-of-pocket expenses of county employees who insure their families by as much as $8,000 a year, said Prosecutor Denis Tracy and Sheriff Brett Myers.

Tracy said one of his deputy prosecutors has told him he will leave the prosecutor’s office if the cost to insure his family rises that much.

“You will drive a stake through the heart of my efforts to attract and retain the most qualified prosecutors we can in Whitman County,” said Tracy.

Those same insurance plans, though, could lower the bills of employees who opt to insure only themselves by $25 per month.

Discussion over next year’s health insurance plans drew some 15 county employees and other department heads into the commissioners’ regular Monday meeting.

Other plans being considered, particularly the plan offered through the Teamsters Union, would have significantly lower price increases.

Kelli Campbell, county human resources director, released several different plan options from four insurance carriers to department heads last week. Cost of those plans range from $409 per month for employees insuring only themselves at the lowest rate possible to $2,233 per month for family insurance under a top shelf plan.

As part of its benefit package, Whitman County now pays $695 each month toward employee health insurance.

Sheriff Myers noted the Teamsters plan would also provide county employees predictable rates in the future.

While insurance for the bulk of county employees has risen 10 to 25 percent a year over the past decade, said Myers, the Teamsters plan, under which jail employees are insured, has increased at a much lower rate.

Myers offered to wager his salary with commissioners that the Teamsters plan had not risen 30 percent total over the last 10 years.

“The best predictor of the future is the past,” said Myers.

The Teamsters plan provides a composite rate, in which every employee pays the same monthly premium, regardless of whether they are insuring their families or just themselves.

“The flip side is, a single person doesn’t want to pay more for less insurance,” said Evonn Jones, an employee in the public works department.

Campbell said the lower-cost plans would also likely mean higher deductibles and prescription payments.

Mike Otis, a private insurance broker contracted by the county, said one-third of county employees insure themselves under the “Cadillac” plan offered by Group Health.

Commissioner Greg Partch said whichever option the county goes with it cannot afford to increase that contribution. Earlier this year, the county rose its insurance contribution from $675 to $695, a move which cost the county $80,000.

“We would love to insure full families,” said Partch. “But it’s got to have a sustainable way to pay for it.”

Tracy noted he had not asked the county to up its contribution, only to choose plans which would be affordable for families with employees.

Approximately 30 employees are insured through the Premera composite rate plan which spun out of the failure of the counties’ insurance pool. Another 135 employees are enrolled in the county’s Group Health plan which provides coverage in tiers based on the number of family members insured. Another 16 employees have waived health insurance.

When the counties’ pool folded, Premera took over and added a 5.74 rate increase, two percent of which accounted for state taxes charged private insurance companies.

The pool folded, director Mike Shelton told commissioners last week, after an increase in medical claims by employees insured under the counties’ plan.

Commissioner Pat O’Neill said he wanted to pull out of the Premera plan so the county could get information about how its employees use medical insurance. The company will not release that information, he said.

O’Neill noted a survey taken earlier of county employees showed most wanted only to insure themselves.

Campbell noted half of those polled, however, said they would insure their families if it was an affordable option.

Commissioner Michael Largent worried the county would face higher rates if it left the Premera plan, but said the county could have more control over its future health insurance decisions.