County adopts insurance plans

The Crawford County Board of Commissioners on Friday approved health insurance coverage plans for its employees for next year.
Tom Ragonese, special projects manager for the county, told the board in August a committee had studied several options for insurance coverage. From an initial projected increase of 16 percent, costs were whittled down to basically a 5.6 percent increase in what the county pays to insure its employees, he said.
"I know we were waiting until after the budgets were done to do anything," Ragonese said. "It's to the point now where we really need to let them know what we're going to do."
The county is self-insured and pays its own claims. The projected increase is based on estimates of what the county has paid out. It could cost the county more, if there are more than the anticipated number of claims, Ragonese said. It could also cost less, if there are fewer claims than projected.
The county currently pays $310.06 per month per single employee for insurance, for example. Next year, that same, single employee will cost the county $327.65 per month. The cost for an employee with children will increase from $596.84 per month to $630.73. Full-family coverage will go from $953.08 to $1,007.21 and the cost of providing insurance for retired employees will increase from $400.27 to $401.08.
There were a couple of changes made that will impact what county employees pay out-of-pocket, Ragonese told commissioners in August. The plan adopted Friday reduces the amount the county pays for covered office visits, for example, from 80 percent to 50 percent.
For example, if an office visit cost $100, the county paid $80 and the covered employee paid $20. The employee's share will increase to half the cost under the new plan.
The county will be able to realize some savings under a new type of agreement reached with the company providing dental coverage to its employees, Ragonese said. The board approved a three-year agreement with Delta Dental of Wichita, securing a smaller, monthly per-employee cost.
The county currently pays $23.08 per month for a single employee for dental coverage, $44.67 for an employee plus one — a spouse or child, for example — and $80.49 for an entire family. Next year, the rate will increase to $24.70, $47.80 and $86.12, respectively, Ragonese said.
The increase for next year would have been greater, if the county had signed the standard, one-year agreement with Delta Dental, he said. By signing the three-year agreement, future premium increases are also capped at 7 percent for 2010 and 9 percent for 2011.
The three-year agreement is non-binding, Ragonese said, meaning the county can change or even drop the agreement if a better rate can be secured. That could help next year, as Ragonese recommended commissioners plan to shop for insurance next year, for coverage in 2010.
"I think, with the way the economy is, next year is probably the year when we need to go out for bids again," he said. "I think it might prove valuable for us. It's been several years."
In other business, the Board:
• Approved a letter, written at the behest of the board by Jim Emerson, county counselor, to be sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in support of reopening the application process for casino operators to bring a gaming casino to Southeast Kansas.
"While we are disappointed in the withdrawal of Penn National Gaming at such a late date, we are hopeful that other potential gaming facility managers will take a renewed interest in the Southeast Kansas gaming zone," the letter said. "Although there is no guarantee that this gaming zone will receive a proposal we fell it is in everyone's best interests to re-open the process for the Southeast Kansas Zone."
• Approved and authorized Chairman Bob Kmiec to sign the 2009 Kansas Emergency Management Cooperative Agreement, which secures grant funding for the county.
• Approved a request from the Girard Chamber of Commerce Events Committee for use of the courthouse lawn in Girard for the annual Homecoming and Fall Festival, Oct. 10-12.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. in chambers at the courthouse in Girard.