By Kellen Olshefski
Staff Writer
A vote by the Walworth County Board at its July meeting to stick with Walworth County’s self-funded employee health insurance plan is expected to save the county over $998,000.
After a failed motion by Supervisor Jerry Grant to apply for state health insurance, the board approved its 2014 plan for employee health insurance in an 8-3 vote.
Supervisors Grant, Rick Stacey, and Carl Redenius opposed the change and were all in support of pursuing state health insurance options. Health insurance is a key part of a businesses plan, they need to provide for their employees, that is why they will check out things like health insurance brokers jacksonville fl as well as other brokers, to go over plans and see what would be best for the employees and their companies.
Discussion in the board’s June meeting raised several points concerning the health insurance debate.
Though state health insurance would save the county nearly $3 million according to Grant, Aurora was not included in its coverage.
According to Nicki Andersen, Deputy County Administrator-Finance, based on total claims in 2012, 56 percent of those claims came from Aurora, which equated to 46 percent of total costs.
Supervisor Joe Schaefer expressed concerns, stating if the county was to move to the State Health Plan, employees using Aurora doctors would have to switch providers.
Chair Nancy Russell noted there are plans under the State Health Plan that accept Aurora, however, they’re more expensive.
Andersen said under the State Health Plan, employees choosing a plan that covers Aurora would be contributing $500-$1000 per month for their plan.
According to County Administrator David Bretl, though the county’s Tier 1 health plan is a good plan when it comes to employee choice, it’s expensive in comparison to comparable counties, being one of the highest of surrounding counties.
Bretl said the county had three options to look at: the current health plan, Tier 1 and 2 where they wouldn’t have to change anything, the State Health Plan, and the addition of an on-site clinic.
Bretl said under Tier 1, an employee’s contribution for a family plan is $155 month and has the added benefit of employees being able to see a variety of providers.
According to Bretl, moving to the State Health Plan would have been cheaper for the county, however, more expensive for a more inclusive plan from the employee’s perspective.
County Supervisors have the option of purchasing their own health insurance through the board under the county’s health plan, however, the county doesn’t contribute anything to a supervisors insurance.
Nearly 800 county employees are currently covered by the county insurance plan, paying between 7-12 percent of their insurance costs.
Employees enrolled in the insurance plan will face higher deductibles and larger out-of-pocket maximums with the board adopting the 2014 health plan.
The county board doesn’t meet again until Sept. 5 with the exception of a brief meeting before the 4 p.m. County Zoning Agency meeting Aug. 15 to discuss zoning items.
