By HOLLY GASKILL
After a year of high claims, the Wells County Commissioners will have to weigh options with the county employees’ health insurance to balance their cost and its benefit to employees.
This year, the county’s claims have come in at 118 percent of their premiums, said Jessica Clayton of Platinum Benefit Consultants.
Clayton presented the commissioners with several options from multiple companies, considering the deductibles, employee contributions and county contributions. In looking for possible outside options, Clayton mentioned that Cigna declined to give a quote based on the county’s overall assessed risk.
Ultimately, if the county were to go with the same plan as previously, they would pay 9 percent more. This increase was negotiated down from 15 percent, Clayton said.
While an increase is not ideal, Clayton noted that, over the last six years, Wells County retained an average -0.3 percent change in cost, whereas the national average has shown an average 10 percent increase.
The commissioners agreed to review the presented options and return with a decision at their next meeting.
holly@news-banner.com
