Whitman County talks health insurance options [Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Moscow, Idaho]

Oct. 31--Whitman County Commissioners faced with the decision of choosing the county's health insurance plan for 2013 received complaints Monday from employees who said rising health care costs are just one component of their overall financial woes.

Commissioners accepted testimony and delayed a decision, agreeing a more comprehensive discussion with employees is necessary to determine which option would be the best for the largest number of employees.

Human Resources Director Kelli Campbell said the county has "literally hundreds of options" when it comes to health insurance offerings, but it boils down to what is the most realistic for the county at the time.

She recommended the county continue contracting with Cigna for health insurance and allow a recently hired health insurance consultant to spend the next year gathering information and exploring the county's options for 2014 and beyond.

"We all have very strong opinions about it, but none of us are health care specialists," she said of county employees and commissioners. "That's the reason we hired (Western States Insurance). So, I'd like to use them at the full capacity over the next year to help gain a professional opinion about that."

Her 2013 Cigna recommendation included the elimination of a popular $0-deductible plan.

Half of the 160 employees who utilize the county's health insurance are currently on that plan, according to Susan Nelson, a benefits/program coordinator. The rest are split between $750- and $3,500-deductible plans.

Debbie Hooper, who works in elections and voter registration, expressed concerns about eliminating the $0-deductible plan.

"If you look at the population of the county employees, I would say 75-80 percent of us have pre-existing conditions which are pretty serious for some of us," she said. "So, I feel I'm being penalized for that. ... I don't feel I should not be given the choice to have a $0-deductible plan."

But Campbell said if the county keeps the $0-deductible plan, employees who are enrolled in it would see their monthly premiums increase from the current $9 to a whopping $194.

If the county eliminates the $0-deductible plan, she said, and those employees switch to the $750-deductible plan, they'd pay just $15 per month in premiums. On the other hand, if the county retains the $0-deductible plan, employees on the $750-deductible plan will see their premiums increase to $89 per month.

"Even when you add the ($750) deductible, it's still less than just paying premiums for a year under the $0 deductible (plan)," she said of the 2013 rates.

Other health insurance options Campbell discussed included Teamsters, which provides insurance to some unionized county employees, and the Washington Counties Insurance Fund

Whitman County was a member of WCIF, with Group Health as its provider, up until this year when it opted to leave.

"We didn't have the flexibility or customization of plan design, and we didn't have claims or data experience," she said.

Prosector Denis Tracy and Sheriff Brett Myers recommended the county look into offering a composite rate plan that would help employees cover the costs of insuring their dependents. The county provides $695 per month for each eligible employee's insurance but doesn't cover dependents -- employees are responsible for paying those costs if they choose.

Many unionized sheriff's office employees are already on composite rate plans. Myers said that helps him recruit and retain quality employees who are family and community-oriented.

"If they did not have those plans, I would be in a world of hurt for retaining those employees because my employees could not pay the $1,000-plus a month every month that the tiered rates would cost the employees -- that the other employees in the county face," he said.

Kris Thompson, a district court clerk and case manager, said nonunionized departments don't have that recruitment base.

"We cannot hire people at the crap wage we have," she said, adding that her insurance "is further in the toilet."

Chief Deputy Prosector Byron Bedirian said commissioners should not approach the health insurance issue as if it were in a vacuum. He said there's a public perception that the county has money to spend if it's hiring a health care consultant and other types of advisers. He added that commissioners have also demonstrated a willingness to invest in county development.

"There's been a paucity of investment in its employees," Bedirian said. "We don't invest in our employees getting raises. We don't invest in matching retirement contributions. We don't invest in significant increases in contributions to health insurance. So, it's in that environment that these increases are damaging to morale, crushing to individuals financially and (motivates people) to find jobs elsewhere."

He said if commissioners aren't able to provide additional compensation to employees, they should explain why.

Commissioner Greg Partch said the bottom line is financial sustainability.

"We cannot obligate the county for things it can't pay for next year," he said.

He said a more in-depth conversation with employees on the matter was warranted.

Thompson cautioned that some employees will only attend a health insurance meeting if it's held during regular working hours because they're busy at second and third jobs in the evening.

Commissioner Michael Largent said total employee compensation and the county's overall health insurance plan are two different issues.

Earlier in the meeting, he said commissioners have a tough decision ahead of them, no matter what road they take.

"This is terribly difficult every time we address this, because we know these commissioners are making decisions for how employees spend their own dollars," Largent said. "... You will hear opinions from various employees that are polar opposites based upon what they've got going in their families. Whatever decision you make, it's going to hurt somebody. I struggle with that."

Information about various county insurance plan options for 2013 can be accessed online at this shortened link: http://goo.gl/VVkxI.

Holly Bowen can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, or by email to [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @DailyNewsHolly

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