County to change health insurance carriers [The Portsmouth Daily Times, Ohio]

Oct. 30--At the Tuesday meeting of the Scioto County Commissioners, an agreement was signed between the County Employee Benefit Consortium of Ohio (CEBCO) and the county to provide some health benefits to its employees.

"This agreement would provide medical, dental and prescription coverage to your employees. We're going to stick with Anthem for our vision and life insurance coverage," said Doug Coleman, Scioto County Commissioner.

According to Commissioner Skip Riffe, as a result of the agreement the counties general fund could see a savings of $500,000, with a potential overall savings of over a million dollars.

"This is a pool that the County Commissioners Association of Ohio created several years ago. We have checked into this before and it was never really to our advantage to join, but it's gotten to the point now where it's much to our advantage to join," Riffe said. "Their (CEBCO) maximum increase over the last eight years has been less than 10 percent."

The agreement will start Jan. 1, 2014, and lasts until Dec. 31, 2016.

Dan Palmer, director of the Lawrence Scioto County Solid Waste Management District, said the coverage being offered is equivalent to what is currently offered to county employees and in some cases cheaper.

"Instead of a two tiered plan, there will now be a four tiered plan. From what I'm hearing we will receive the same benefits, which is excellent," Palmer said.

According to the CEBCO website (www.cebco.org), "We are the healthcare division of The County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO). Founded in 1880, CCAO represents 88 counties working together for a common goal of cost efficient, quality governance to ensure that Ohio's counties remain strong. CCAO operates the County Risk-Sharing Association (CORSA), a property and liability risk sharing pool comprised of sixty-five of Ohio's eighty-eight counties, along with nineteen multi-county facilities. CORSA was established in 1987, when traditional liability insurance for counties was either unavailable or unaffordable. It is governed by and for counties, to meet the unique needs of county government.

In the same spirit that led to CORSA, CCAO launched CEBCO in 2004 to assist counties with procuring employee health benefits. CEBCO is a member-owned, not-for-profit, self-insured purchasing pool. Like CORSA, in the property and causality arena, CEBCO offers members stable and competitive costs, financial strength, broad coverage, and a vast array of wellness and health management services that are unlike any other risk sharing pool or insurance company."

CEBCO reported that 14 of Ohio's 88 counties are members, with Scioto County its newest. For more information about CEBCO, visit www.cebco.org.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 228, or tallen@civitasmedia.com. For breaking news, follow Wayne on Twitter @WayneallenPDT.

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