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 Board member Kevin Bateman said insurance is increasing from
428.11 to 472.19 per person per month.
Brenda Clark, one of the administrative assistants in the board
office, said that employees choosing to use the county's health
insurance plans can choose from three different plans.
Clark said a Preferred Provider Organization (PP0) plan with a
$1,500 deductible costs $605.55, while a PPO plan with a $3,500
deductible costs 548.43 per month. She said the plan for those who
choose to use a high qualifying Health Savings Account (HSA) with a
$472.19 per month premium, and these employees will also have $17.00
a month deposited into the Health Savings Account to use for
prescriptions and other medical needs.
Clark said the county pays $490 per month for each employee who
chooses to be under the county's health insurance.
Board member Miles Craig said that when he looked further into the
numbers and amounts, the increase was not as high as the board
originally thought. The biggest increase is from the Health Savings
Account Plans that 35 employees enrolled in. The other two plans are
just increasing by a few dollars.
 Clark said the increase in the Health Savings Account plan is 12
percent. The other employees are enrolled in one of the two PPO
plans, so Clark said the overall increase is 2.9 percent. She said,
to get a new rate of 2.9 percent, the county is signing up with a
different dental plan.
Clark said, "In light of current economic insurance changes, the
county board has negotiated an increase of 2.9 percent and the
county will absorb an amount of $490.00 for those employees choosing
health insurance."
Craig said they looked at how to absorb the costs and said a
standard amount among all three plans is better. They could stop
offering the Health Savings Account Plan to cover debt, but Craig
said that would not be efficient.
Board member Kevin Bateman said County Treasurer Vicki Dugan said
the numbers are cleaner, more concise, even, and better for budget.
He said moving forward, though, insurance is a "monster in the room"
for budgeting and "every year will be a battle on what we end up
paying." Bateman said the status quo cannot stay the same.
Board member Emily Davenport said she thinks it will get worse from
here on. The county may not always be able to deposit into the
Health Savings Account plans and some may have to pay a little bit
in the future.
Craig said they need to project increases from year to year and
consider quality of life when looking at plans. Craig said he hopes
they can resolve increases in the future.
Board member Chuck Ruben said it may not be the savings they hope
for since those who predominantly use the higher deductible plans
are those who get all of it paid for. He said he does not want
people surprised if the savings is not as much as expected.
Clark said the county pays 100 percent of the lowest cost insurance
that meets the minimum requirements, which is the Health Savings
Account plan.
Craig said the county will have to "eat some costs" with the
increases from last year to this year, but this plan addresses some
of the increases and will not cause as much debt.
Bateman said they have looked at how to cover some or most of the
debt and still make it equal and fair to all employees, and said
Vicki Dugan helped come up with a plan that is even across the board
and more streamlined.
Hepler said they need to look at both costs of plans and costs
people pay out of pocket. With higher deductibles, the employee will
have more out of pocket expenses. He said he asked Nancy Schaub to
provide figures from 2009-2010 to 2015-2016 and found in that time
the county has had roughly a 20 percent increase. The deductibles
the employees had for the plans have gone up 40 percent, and the
expense the employees have born has gone up 120 percent.
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Hepler said employees are taking on more and more of the personal
expense; it allows the board to just have a 20 percent increase.
Lynette Bruce, a county employee, thanked the board for crunching numbers and
offering choices that are good for both the taxpayers and the employees. She
said the "transparency" provided helps them trust the board. Bruce asked if the
board had looked at other providers.
Craig said "insurance hopping" can penalize people and companies may be scared
to do business with those who keep changing insurance companies.
Bateman said, "The county board is doing the best we can and Blue Cross Blue
Shield is working well." He said they are looking to see that costs do not go
way up, but "wants insurance the county can pay a larger chunk."
Board votes unanimously to approve loan for the Logan County Department of
Public Health
Chuck Ruben motioned the board borrow $350,000 for a loan for the Health
Department. He said it could be borrowed as a line of credit and used when
needed.
Before the board voted on the motion, LCDPH Administrator Don Cavi gave up some
brief updates on the department's financial status.
Cavi said the department offers critical services such as the dental clinic, so
he really needs to keep it open until SIU takes it over in the fall. To save
money, it is currently only open three days a week.
Cavi said the department will borrow conservatively and put the money back into
a special fund as funding comes in. He does not want to "bite off more than we
can chew."
Cavi said the department does not owe anything besides what they owe the county,
and cutbacks have reduced overhead.
Cavi said closing Fridays saves $20,000 and the department just paid the county
$20,000 towards money already owed. In addition, there is a mandate to get grant
money for one program and the state owes the department $331,00 by the end of
June. He said having more insurance contracts has helped and they expect to get
$300,000 from Home Health Insurance and Clinical Services soon, so thing are
looking a bit more financially promising.
Craig voiced his support for the loan and said taking on more debt can be scary,
but a line of credit is not as scary with the department just taking out what is
needed rather than a $350,000 lump sum. He said the health department offers
services to help others that might not normally have them.
Board member Pat O'Neill said many depend on the Health Department, so he sees
helping them as an investment in the community.
The board unanimously approved the motions for the loan and the budget amendment
for the loan.
Rick Aylesworth, Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Miles Craig, Emily Davenport,
Bob Farmer, Pat O'Neill, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Scott Schaffenacker, and
David Hepler were present for the meeting.
The next Logan County Board meeting will be Tuesday, April 9, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
[Angela Reiners] |
