Orange County NC Website
1 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: May 13, 2014 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 2 <br />SUBJECT: Employee Benefits Updates, Preliminary Renewal Estimates Regarding <br />Calendar Year 2015 Health Insurance, and Anticipated Health Care Reform <br />Components <br />DEPARTMENT: Human Resources PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />A. Plan Year Highlights <br />B. Healthcare Reform and Health <br />Insurance for Temporary Employees <br />C. Mark III Health Insurance Update <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Cheryl Young, Assistant County <br />Manager, 919 - 245 -2307 <br />Diane Shepherd, Benefits Manager, 919- <br />245 -2558 <br />PURPOSE: To provide an update on health insurance initiatives, preliminary health insurance <br />cost estimates for calendar year 2015, and the impact of Health Care Reform. <br />BACKGROUND: Effective January 1, 2014, the County changed the employee health <br />insurance funding from premium -based (fully- insured) to self- insured. The County pays <br />United Healthcare an administrative fee, including stop -loss coverage, and pays the claims <br />costs. The County does not pay a per member premium. The County will save approximately <br />$667,000 for the 2014 Plan Year, because some fees related to health care reform are not <br />imposed on self- insured plans. <br />Based on early claims data, consultant Mark III has projected up to a 14.35% increase in <br />premiums for a renewal of the same benefits beginning January 1, 2015. The projected general <br />fund budgetary increase for FY 2014 -15 is $423,446 (January through June 2015). <br />Overall 2014 enrollment numbers remained consistent, with a slight increase in the High <br />Deductible Health Plan compared to 2013. The number of employees waiving coverage, <br />generally due to spousal coverage, has increased. The chart below shows current enrollments: <br />Health Plan <br />Active Employees <br />Retirees <br /># Enrolled <br />% Enrolled <br /># Enrolled <br />% Enrolled <br />Traditional Point of Service (POS) <br />630 <br />72.5% <br />145 <br />97.3% <br />High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) <br />201 <br />23.1% <br />4 <br />2.7% <br />Employees Waiving Health Coverage <br />38 <br />4.4% <br />0 <br />Total (includes Commissioners) <br />869 <br />149 <br />