Orange County NC Website
2004 Rates <br />The NCACC Health Insurance Trust and CIGNA have provided renewal rate quotations <br />effective January 1, 2004 for the current health plans as follows: <br />Plan Rate Increase <br />Blue Cross Blue Care Plan 13.80% <br />Blue Cross Blue Options Plan 13.80% <br />CIGNA 17.21 <br />Benefits Changes <br />The NCACC Trust renewal provides for minor changes to the Blue Cross Blue Care and Blue <br />Options Plans. <br />• The Blue Cross Blue Care Plan includes one adjustment to the benefits offered during 2003. <br />With the 2004 renewal, the Emergency Room co-payment increases from $100 to $150. <br />• For the Blue Cross Blue Options Plan the Emergency Room co-payment also increases <br />from $100 to $150. In addition, inpatient and outpatient hospital diagnostic services (such <br />as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs) are changed from full coverage to 90% coverage after <br />meeting the standard $250 deductible. <br />The CIGNA plan renewal also includes two minor benefit changes. One provides fora 60 visit <br />limit on home health visits as compared to the previous no limit on such visits and the other <br />provides a $5 discount on mail order prescriptions. <br />County Contribution for Employee Health Insurance <br />For the 2003 benefit plan year, the County established its contribution for employee health <br />insurance as the: <br />• Full cost for individual employee coverage and <br />• 52 percent of the cost of dependent coverage based on the Blue Cross Blue Care Plan rate. <br />The County then applied the dollar amount of the dependent contribution calculated based <br />on the Blue Cross Blue Care rate to the Blue Cross Blue Options and CIGNA plans. The <br />County had increased the subsidy from 40 percent to 52 percent with the January 1, 2003 <br />renewal to offset the impact on employees of the 25 percent health insurance cost increase <br />in 2003. <br />The Attachment 1 draft monthly health insurance plan rates are based on renewal of the current <br />plans with continuation of the current 52 percent dependent subsidy based on the Blue Care <br />Plan. Continuation of the subsidy at this level maintains a key "family friendly" policy offered by <br />the County. This is a family friendly policy in that it makes health insurance coverage for <br />dependents, whether spouse, children or both, more affordable and thus accessible. It <br />particularly benefits lower salaried employees for whom dependent health insurance coverage <br />is a significant cost. <br />