County expects to lower health costs

County employees
contribute 10 percent of their health care costs with no cap.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — Trumbull County expects to pay about the same in 2008 for health insurance for around 789 county employees as it did in 2007, because of a switch to self-insurance and additional co-pays from employees.

James Keating, county personnel director, told county commissioners Wednesday that the cost of renewing the Aetna Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) type of plan that around 336 employees used in 2007 would have been about $3.4 million annually, or around $550,000 more than the 2007 cost of $2.9 million. That increase would have been 17 percent.

But by switching to a self-insured HMO, the cost will likely be about the same as 2007, Keating said.

The county offers around 789 employees the option of taking a Medical Mutual of Ohio Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan or the Aetna HMO. The PPO allows the user to pick any doctor, with larger out-of-pocket costs, whereas the HMO generally requires the use of doctors within a network.

About 336 county employees selected the Aetna HMO option in 2007, and 453 selected the PPO, Keating said.

County commissioners are expected to approve the switch to a self-insured HMO today. Its Medical Mutual PPO option has been self-insured since about 2000, Keating said.

A self-insurance plan involves paying for the claims of workers as they are incurred, up to a certain limit, instead of paying one premium to the insurance company, Keating said.

Keating said there are more than 789 county employees receiving health insurance, but some other county employees are covered by separate plans, such as employees of the Fairhaven school and workshops, children services board, sanitary engineer’s office, highway engineer’s office, and county board of health.

Nine unions representing county employees agreed in their last contract to pay 10 percent of their health care costs with no cap, Keating said. 2008 will be the first full year employees will pay the 10 percent co-pay, Keating said. Other employee contributions, such as co-pays on prescriptions, have also gone up. These factors are also reducing the county’s health care bill, Keating said.

The amount of a worker’s contribution to health care is based on the cost of Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) benefits, Keating said. COBRA benefits are those provided to certain employees after they leave employment.

The cost of the 10 percent co-pay for the Medical Mutual PPO plan will be about $44 per month for single coverage, or about $114 per month for the family plan. The cost under the Aetna HMO will be about $38 per month for single coverage, or about $102 per month for the family plan.

The Medical Mutual PPO costs are essentially unchanged, but the Aetna HMO costs will rise by about $5.60 per month for the single plan and about $15 per month for the family plan.

If commissioners approve the plan today, it becomes effective Jan. 1, 2008.

runyan@vindy.com