Orange County NC Website
Staff reviewed the' benefits survey conducted by The Archer Company and other local surveys <br />and confirmed that Orange County benefits are, for the most part, comparable to nearby <br />jurisdictions. This data shows Orange County health care provides some of the lowest <br />deductibles and co-pays for office visits with the lowest co-pays for prescriptions. Where the <br />data can be compared, Orange County dental benefits are comparable to other organizations. <br />Orange County provides the highest number of paid days off (holidays, personal and vacation <br />days) among surveyed groups. .Employees must have more years of service to qualify for <br />longevity payments than most of the surveyed organizations, and the maximum tuition <br />reimbursement amount is below the average. 401(k) contributions are the lowest of all <br />organizations surveyed because most organizations contribute 5 /o, while we contribute $27.50 <br />a pay period. Attachment 1 presents a comparison of benefits. <br />Dental Insurance <br />The County provides aself-insured dental plan with Delta Dental of North Carolina serving as <br />the third party administrator. Premiums earned in FY 07-08 were $443,500 and claims and fees <br />paid were $368,800. The dental plan's fund balance at the end of FY 07-08 was in excess of <br />$300,000. This year there is no increase in Delta Dental's administrative fee of $2.02 per <br />member per month. <br />.All claims are paid based on a Table of Allowances (TOA) which Orange County establishes. <br />Although the County reimburses preventive services at 100% of the TOA, the current Table has <br />lagged behind standard rates of reimbursement, causing employees to pay an increasing <br />amount for services. This has reduced the value of the benefit and only a third of employees <br />are taking advantage of the preventive and diagnostic care. <br />Staff reviewed the dental TOA and identified the most common preventive and diagnostic <br />services. As a result, staff recommends increasing .the amount paid for preventive and <br />diagnostic services from the current TOA to the Maximum Payable Amount (MPA) established <br />by Delta Dental. Attachment 2A provides a comparison of the current and proposed amounts. <br />Based on experience, this change in the amount paid for services will increase the County's <br />claims by approximately $48,000 annually and can be absorbed by the current premiums <br />earned over the next several years. Attachment 2B shows projections that assume there will be <br />growth due to increased staff size and more participants in the dental plan. Staff will continue <br />to regularly monitor the dental fund. <br />Staff reviewed other options besides increasing preventive and maintenance reimbursements, <br />such as also increasing restorative services by 20%. Increasing additional services would draw <br />down the dental fund more rapidly. An example projection is on Attachment 2 C. <br />Flexible Compensation Plan <br />The County provides a Section 125 Flexible Compensation Plan administered by Tucker <br />Administrators. This Ptan provides tax sheltering of health and dental premiums and includes <br />two Flexible Spending Accounts (a medical spending account and dependent/child care <br />spending account). These accounts enable employees to save money and increase their take <br />home pay by eliminating income taxes and Social Security taxes on contributions employees <br />make to the Spending Accounts. It also allows the County to reduce payroll taxes on employee <br />contributions. Employees achieve these reductions in taxes by setting aside a specific amount <br />