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7 <br /> Health Insurance <br /> Almost all full time and part time employees participate in the County's group health insurance <br /> plan. As of January 16, 2016, the plan covered 871 employees and 160 County retirees under <br /> the age of 65. Enrollment data is detailed in Attachment A. <br /> Since the County's insurance plan is self-funded, the County uses a third party administrator <br /> (TPA) to administer and manage claims. To take advantage of changing market dynamics and <br /> services, the County periodically solicits proposals from companies offering TPA services. The <br /> County conducted a competitive solicitation this year through its broker and is in the process of <br /> negotiating a final contact with the most responsive and qualified provider for FY2016/2017. A <br /> recommendation on the identity of the provider is scheduled for consideration by the Board of <br /> Commissioners on April 5. <br /> Based on the initial solicitation results, the County's broker has estimated that total health <br /> insurance costs next fiscal year will remain flat or decrease slightly. As a result, no plan design <br /> changes are recommended. All covered benefits, co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles are <br /> expected to remain the same. <br /> If the budget for health insurance is decreased, the premium equivalents charged to employees <br /> will be adjusted accordingly. Employees currently pay a share of the premium for most of the <br /> plan options. Attachment B shows the current monthly and bi-monthly cost share of premium <br /> equivalents. <br /> Dental and Vision Insurance <br /> Delta Dental is the County's current dental provider and Community Eye Care provides the <br /> County's vision plan. As part of three-year contract, the County will continue providing dental <br /> coverage through Delta Dental. The current budget for dental insurance coverage is <br /> approximately $320,000 annually. No increase in premium is recommended for FY 2016-2017. <br /> In fact, the County will improve the dental plan design by removing diagnostic and preventative <br /> services from the annual maximum covered services to promote preventative oral health care. <br /> The bi-monthly employee cost share of dental and vision premiums are also provided in <br /> Attachment B. <br /> Other Employee Programs <br /> The County will continue to partner with representatives of the UNC Wellness @ Work program <br /> to offer health screenings to all employees. In the fall of 2016, the Health and Human <br /> Resources Departments coordinated flu clinics for employees, and Human Resources held two <br /> Breast Cancer Awareness Days (for mammograms) at UNC Radiology in Hillsborough. See <br /> Attachment A for more detail on Employee Wellness Activities and Orange County Sportsplex <br /> enrollment. <br /> Compression Review <br /> Compression has been a growing concern among directors and employees and was ranking <br /> highly during the Department Director's prioritization of internal needs. Pay compression occurs <br /> when the difference between two salary grades or between two employees within the same <br /> salary grade is too small without an intentional, reasonable pay policy to explain that difference. <br /> A classic example of pay compression occurs when new employees are hired at the same or <br /> higher rates as employees who have been employed by the organization for several years. In <br /> this case, market rates for certain positions may have advanced beyond the salaries paid to <br /> current employees. The organization is compelled to pay market rates to attract well-qualified <br /> new employees but does not feel the same pressure to increase the salaries of current <br />