COLUMBIANA COUNTY Officials approve borrowing to pay off insurance debt

A new plan is expected to reduce annual costs by about $300,000.
LISBON -- Columbiana County commissioners agreed to borrow $1 million to pay off employee health insurance debt.
The loan, entered into Wednesday, will be repaid over the next 18 months.
Money will be set aside in the county's upcoming budgets to pay off the obligation, which will bear interest of less than 2 percent.
The debt was created because the nearly $5 million the county puts annually into its insurance plan is failing to keep pace with claims costs.
The county belongs to a self-funded plan, meaning that it estimates the per-employee cost of coverage and puts that amount into a fund from which the claims are paid.
New plan
To prevent future debt from accumulating, commissioners adopted in May a new insurance plan intended to reduce costs by about $300,000 annually.
The new plan puts a heavier expense burden on employees by increasing deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and employees' share of prescription costs.
Under the new insurance coverage, the county pays about $848 per month for employees receiving family coverage and $388 for employees receiving single coverage.
County employees do not contribute to the premium costs.