County insurance costs level off

Insurance premiums for employees of Daviess Fiscal Court will stay the same for the coming year, a decision that reflects a leveling off of the county's health insurance costs.

Premiums for county workers increased last year and in 2007 after the county began experiencing a spike in insurance claims. But the claims have leveled out. Between September 2008 and last month, the county had $2.6 million in claims -- roughly the same amount Fiscal Court experienced between September 2007 and September 2008, county Treasurer Jim Hendrix said.

"Before I came (as treasurer), they had a big jump, and they were afraid (claims) would continue to escalate," Hendrix said. But with the claims leveling off, Hendrix said the county has established "a new baseline" for claims.

"The uncontrollable increases they were worried about are not happening," Hendrix said. "Between 2005 and 2006, and between 2006 and 2007, it jumped big-time. It looks like it almost doubled. But since then, it's almost stable."

Daviess County is self-insured but has a policy with a re-insurance company that covers employee medical claims that exceed a set limit. The county renews its employee insurance coverage every November.

County officials could not identify any single reason claims increased dramatically, Hendrix said.

"There doesn't appear to be anything we could pin it on," Hendrix said. "What we were worried about was, was it going to continue on an annual basis?

"It appears to be this is what our costs are with this (insurance) plan and this number of employees," Hendrix said.

The county pays 88 percent of insurance premiums for employees hired before January 2008. For employees hired after that, the county pays 85 percent of the premium, and the employee pays 15 percent.

Officials hope to reduce claims by promoting healthy activities. The county offers a reimbursement for gym memberships and provides services such as health screenings and flu shots at its annual employee health fair, Hendrix said.

Earlier this year, Fiscal Court became a designated drug-free workplace, which gives the county a 5 percent discount on its health insurance premiums, Hendrix said.

While premiums will remain steady next year, Hendrix said the costs will be monitored before officials renew the county's insurance coverage in November 2010.

"You wouldn't expect (the costs) to be flat two years in a row," Hendrix said.