HomeMy WebLinkAboutComments from Tina Gray
Comments from Tina Gray, Human Resource Manager on providing health benefits to
elected officials.
Impact on Risk Pool
1)- The City purchases our health benefits through City County
Insurance Services. We are part of a public employer risk pool that includes a majority
of the cities, counties and special districts in Oregon. City County Insurance has offered
many incentives to our employees to keep them healthy (Health Screening clinics,
healthy benefits incentives, 24-hour nurse line, etc.). Additionally, the City offers a
Wellness Program incentive to our employees. All of these Wellness initiatives are
directed at trying to impact our rates and keep our claim frequency and severity as low as
possible.
By adding elected officials into the mix, the City has less control over the impact this
small group may have on the City’s overall rate risk pool. The City has no control over
who is elected to the Council, and we do not conduct pre-employment physicals to
determine if they are fit to serve as a City Council Member. So, the City is accepting
whatever health risks the elected group may bring with them into our risk pool. City
County Insurance does use a rate smoothing process to prevent one catastrophic claim
from having a huge impact on the entity's rates, but this small elected group could impact
the City’s overall rates positively or negatively.
Cost Containment
2) -- The City has worked to achieve a cost-share from employees to
help them understand that decisions they make regarding their health care have a direct
correlation to the rates that we pay. When the city paid 100% for health benefits, we
found that employee's took advantage of their "free" coverage and didn't make health care
decisions in the same way they do now that they have some out-of-pocket investment.
Currently city employees pay 5% of the monthly premium, Mayor and council members
do not pay this percentage. Providing a monthly stipend that elected officials they could
use to buy-in to the City’s health plan at their option would allow the City to budget a
fixed cost and help continue the City’s efforts toward cost containment on health benefits.
Additional administrative work
3) - Although it is usually minimal, there is additional
Administrative work attributed with managing the elected official benefits. This group
isn’t as easy to communicate with on changes to the plans, Open Enrollment
requirements, etc. as our employee group. Everything has to be customized for the
differences in Elected Official benefits in order to eliminate confusion.
Group Plan Membership
4) -Membership in a group health plan offers an elected
official the ability to continue to "buy in" to the group coverage under COBRA when
they leave office. Once they have exhausted their rights under COBRA, they also have
portability rights that may offer significant advantages over what they might have access
to on the open insurance market. This could be especially valuable for someone who fills
a vacant spot on the council and doesn’t get re-elected or someone who is appointed mid-
term and is not re-elected.
Until there is a change in the benefit package and/or parameters for Elected Officials,
health insurance is made available as an option to all elected officials regardless of how
long they serve, and they have the same rights to continued coverage and portability as
any employee of the City.
Adverse selection
5) – Employees cannot waive health coverage even if they are covered
under different insurance through a spouse. This is in place to prevent adverse selection.
e.g. healthy employees who can opt out could do so, leaving a pool of less healthy
employees which could affect the number of claims compared to the pool and in the end
raise rates. Elected officials can opt out. This means that healthy electeds could opt out
if they have other coverage leaving less healthy electeds in the pool.
This can work for and/or against the city. In past years, some members of council have
elected not to take advantage of the insurance options. Each member of the current
council is taking full advantage of the health insurance, thus there is a significant increase
in the budget to cover the increase in health costs.
City of Ashland
Monthly Health Insurance Premiums
Note: Employees pay 5% of the monthly premium, Mayor and council do not.
$396.52 p/m single coverage
$818.15 p/m 2 people coverage
$1124.05 p/m full family coverage