The Jones County Board of Commissions held a workshop on employee health insurance prior to last week’s business meeting.
Chairman Chris Weidner called the May 19 workshop to order and then turned the meeting over to County Administrator Jason Rizner. He went over the county’s current medical insurance plan, the plan’s renewal cost and the high claims fueling the increase.
Commissioners voted to renew the insurance at their May 5 meeting at a cost of $3,251,249, which is a 10.4 percent more than the previous year, an increase of $306,721. Weidner stated that the renewal was the third year the county has absorbed an increase of $250,000 or more, and that cannot continue.
The health insurance plan has a $5,000 deductible that will increase to $6,000 with the renewal, however the county’s HRA helps employees pay the cost of that high deductible.
The reason for the rate increase was mostly due to five high-cost claimants that accounted for $1.4 million in claims, but the number of employees not participating in the county’s wellness plan was pointed to as another reason.
Referenced-based pricing plans were also discussed at the previous meeting. It was explained that RBP plan replaces traditional provider networks with a flat payment cap usually based on a percentage of Medicare rates.
Human Resources Director Shannon Wagner stated the plans were not accepted by the Medical Center in Macon.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens said he wanted to research that because he did not believe a hospital could deny service due to what insurance the patient has.
Weidner said Monroe County tried an RBP plan and saved over a million dollars but came off the plan because employees hated it. NFP employee benefits consultant Johnathan Shaw noted at the last meeting that, under the RBP plans, claimants receive notices of non-payment and sometimes end up in court to resolve the issues.
Rizner suggested the option of requiring employees to participate in the wellness program to be eligible to use the HRA. Other suggestions were requiring the primary care visit under the wellness program and looking at other plan types.
Kitchens added that the county had no control of the life choices of spouses and children of employees who are also covered by county insurance.
The meeting ended with unanswered questions but a commitment to continue working on the issue.
