COLUMBIANA COUNTY Health insurance costs are targeted

Last year, county officials revised coverage to produce a savings.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County commissioners continue their effort to trim the nearly $4.3 million annual cost of providing employee health insurance by seeking bids for less-expensive coverage.
A new plan affecting nearly 500 county employees is likely to be adopted this spring, commissioners said Wednesday.
Their goal is to slash insurance costs without stripping benefits.
The county pays $848 monthly to insure 378 employees on a family plan and $388 per month to cover 89 employees on the single plan.
Most county employees do not help pay the monthly premiums.
Seeking bids comes after steps taken last year to be more tight-fisted with insurance costs.
Last May, commissioners saved about $300,000 by revising coverage to put a heavier cost on employees.
Deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and employees' share of prescription costs were increased.
Commissioners were forced to revise the plan because the nearly $5 million the county was putting into its plan was failing to keep up with claims.
A nearly $1 million deficit arose that compelled commissioners to borrow that amount in July to erase the deficit.
Self-funded plan
The county has a self-funded insurance plan, meaning that it estimates its per-employee cost of coverage and puts that amount into a fund from which most claims are paid.
A private company, Professional Benefits of Cuyahoga Falls, gets about $60,000 annually from the county to administer its plan and process claims.
Commissioner Jim Hoppel said employee unions representing many county workers could reject a new plan.
But Hoppel added he's hopeful the unions will accept the changes, especially since there's no intent to alter benefits.
leigh@vindy.com