Health care options appear to reap substantial savings

Sept. 19--Muskogee County Commissioners on Monday continued to contemplate the impact of possible changes in the county's health insurance plans on the budget and on employees.

One of those options appears to have the potential to save the county $175,000 in annual premiums with coverage comparable to what the county has. With other options, like providing employees choices in coverages they want or need and with options in deductible amounts, the savings could be as high as $250,000 to $300,000 annually, District 1 Commissioner Ken Doke said.

A change in insurance carrier also could provide county staffers with the potential of saving between $200 and $1,200 a year on the employee's share of premiums, he said.

No action was taken, but officials heard a report from Dylan Lucht with Lucht Insurance Group of Muskogee representing Community Care. Also on hand was Gary Broom, senior account executive for Tulsa-based Community Care, which is owned by Saint Francis Health System, and Saint John Health System.

"It's no secret we've been shopping for health insurance for about six months looking at different options," Doke said.

Driving the conversations have been year-over-year premium increases of about $70,000 annually to the county from existing carrier OPEHW Health Insurance, he said.

Lucht said with OPEHW the county has no choice in coverage options. Either the county and staff takes the full package or nothing.

"Community Care has at least 30 plans they can make variations with," Lucht said.

Commission Chairman Kenny Payne said the idea of providing employees an option for those who do not need or want coverages like dental or vision insurance, when perhaps they have those coverages through a spouse, makes sense. But Payne said he wants the county to move forward by laying out the facts, costs and details of coverage options.

Doke said, in recent years the county has been plagued with hundreds of thousands of dollars in premium increases.

"While the county has been able to absorb most of those increases, in 2016 the county could not absorb all of the increase, and a portion of the costs were passed down to staff," Doke said.

Combined with the fact county revenues have been flat, resulting in no staff pay increases in recent years, passing along part of health care costs to employees has, in effect, cut their take-home pay and created a financial hardship for them, he said.

"OPEHW is a quality plan that is a known quantity. Since the county has had this coverage for 16 years, employees are familiar with its coverage and its quirks," Doke said.

"The problem is that if the county opts to keep this plan, future premium increases could make this plan unsustainable," he said. "Costs passed down to our staff could cause them to drop coverage all together or make poor health decisions because of the finances involved."

While the new Community Care option promises significant premium savings, it comes with unknown qualities, Doke said.

"There are not a lot of carriers interested in the county's business," Doke said.

That left officials with two basic options -- stay with OPEHW representing Blue Cross and Blue Shield, or look at firms representing Community Care, he said.

Bids submitted on behalf of Community Care included Integrated Insurance with a projected annual savings of $110,000; Bancfirst with an estimated savings of about $36,000; and Lucht Insurance with a projected savings of about $175,000 a year.

With some changes in coverage and options, the savings to the county and to individual employees could be more, Doke said.

"It's dang sure more affordable, I mean we're talking at least a quarter of a million dollars in savings up to more than $300,000 in savings depending upon what we choose," Doke said. "It would certainly provide premium relief to both the county and to our staff."

Another option that could save employees would be offering a choice of a higher deductible, lower premium policy.

"By creating options, we let each staff member the master of their own fate, they get to choose how much they spend each month to a degree," he said. "That lower premium creates financial flexibility and makes the insurance more sustainable."

Officials indicated they plan to continue looking at coverage options and potential savings.

Reach Mike Elswick at (918) 684-2954 or [email protected].

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