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County hears health insurance options
WARM SPRINGS - George Weikel presented Bath supervisors Tuesday with four options of how to distribute the increase in county employee insurance coverage.
If the county were to leave the insurance plan, which includes health and dental, in its current state, the 18.7 percent premium increase would be absorbed chiefly by the county, with employees paying $390,468 of the premium and the county paying $1,363,479.
The second option would shift a 5 percent increase of the premium to the employees, raising their annual cost to $478,064, with the county's share as $1,275,780.
The third option would not shift the premium increase to the employees, but rather change the benefits to include a deductible and an out of pocket amount. The annual cost to employees would be $337,037 with the county paying $1,316,702.
The fourth plan would combine option two and three, a 5 percent increase plus the deductible amounts and an out of pocket expense. The cost to employees would be $461, 729 and the county's would be $1,232,002.
Weikel explained that with a deductible and out of pocket plan there would be no cap on benefits once the out of pocket amounts had been met. "Health insurance today," he explained, "has to be catastrophic. We have had claims in these first six months where the claim was more than the premium. The insurance company lost money."
While there was much discussion regarding Weikel's presentation and four options, no action was taken.
- Cynthia B. Coleman
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