Consultant warns county insurance increases coming

Advisor says county usage rates are high, which could lead to rate increase

Taylor County board members should be prepared for an insurance rate increase of between 3% and 8%.

That was the guidance from Tim Deaton, vice president of the Horton Group, the company that advises the county on health insurance. He said the driving force in any increase would be utilization and is based on the claims paid out by the insurance companies compared to premiums paid in. He said that on a 12-month average the county was currently at 98.67% usage while insurance companies preferred to see groups in the 85% range.

Deaton was at Monday’s meeting of the county’s joint finance and personnel committee to update the county on the trends they are seeing and what to expect coming into the budget season. He said the county has been able to make design plan changes in the past to minimize increases, however, he felt it would be best at this point to plan on going out to the market and bring back options by the end of August.

Committee member Scott Mildbrand suggested the county look into the possibility of joining a healthcare co-op, such as the one the city of Medford is part of. He said he spoke to Tony Hallgren who manages the one the city is in, and said it looks like there could be a potential for savings. He asked if the county should instruct the Horton Group to seek a request for a proposal from that group as well as other options.

“A co-op is a great idea,” Deaton said, noting that he would be in contact with them about getting options. He cautioned that most co-ops are made up of groups under 50 people and that the county would likely be larger than most in it.

“Every option should be on the table,” Deaton said.