Local part-time elected officials can lose health insurance, Indiana Supreme Court rules

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that local units of government across the state can choose to exclude part-time elected officials from receiving health insurance.

After hearing arguments in a Perry County case in October, the court reversed the trial court's ruling and vacated a preliminary injunction that had been issued in favor of a county councilman. The case now goes to the trial courts for further consideration.

"The question before the Court is whether local elected officials may be designated as part-time employees, which would therefore permit the County to exclude them from group health insurance. The answer, as found in the statutes, is yes," the decision said.

The case began after the Perry County Board of Commissioners voted to exclude part-employees from health insurance coverage in June 2023. This resulted in Keith Huck, an elected county councilman, being stripped from group health insurance coverage.

Perry County deemed 12 of the 21 local elected officials part-time, including the commissioners themselves, and took away health insurance during a fiscal crisis.

The county determined Huck to be a part-time employee since he worked about nine hours a month and earned an annual salary of $4,783, according to court documents.

Huck was eligible to purchase replacement insurance, however, he did not obtain any.

He then sued and sought a preliminary injunction against the county to keep his health insurance coverage, alleging that elected officials should be considered full-time despite the hours they work.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court found that local elected officials may be designated as part-time employees per Indiana code and the county has permission to exclude all part-time employees from group health insurance.

"If we are mistaken in our interpretation, the General Assembly remains free to revise its statutes to provide more clarity," Justice Mark Massa said in the ruling.

Massa wrote the court found that Huck did not establish that he was likely to win the case under the law and the county reserves the right to classify him as a part-time local elected official. The court also found that the trial court abused its discretion in issuing the injunction and did not grant Huck any relief for compensation.

Chief Justice Loretta Rush added that Huck did not prove that he was in risk of irreparable harm with the loss of his heath insurance.

"Turning to the irreparable-harm element, we have recognized that a "party suffering mere economic injury is not entitled to injunctive relief because damages are sufficient to make the party whole,'" she wrote.

Justice Christopher Goff disagreed with his colleagues in a dissent, saying the county should not exclude an elected official, regardless of the number of hours they work, from health-insurance purposes.

Goff said for purposes of group insurance, "employee" is defined as an elected or appointed officer or official, or a full-time employee.

"The trial court could have reasonably concluded that, despite the cost to the taxpayers, the injunction would keep quality leaders in elected positions which ultimately benefits the public," he wrote.

He also encouraged the General Assembly to review the issue and the ambiguity between two laws.

"Ultimately, the issue of health-insurance coverage for local elected officials is an important policy issue best left for the legislature to address, and I welcome further clarification." Goff said in his opinion.