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As we approach open enrollment beginning May 1, I'm sharing important updates regarding our employee health plan. I understand that changes to health care costs can have a real impact on you and your family. My goal is to be transparent about what’s changing, why these changes are necessary, and how we are working to continue offering a strong and competitive benefits program.
What’s Changing
- There will now be two plan options: a Core Plan and a Buy-Up Plan, giving employees more choice based on their needs.
- Monthly premiums will increase.
- The majority of our employees are on an employee-only plan.
- For the employee-only option on the new core plan – the increase is $6 more a month than the current premium.
- For the employee-only option on the new Buy-Up plan, the increase is $41 a month.
- Deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums will increase on both plans.
- Copays are being introduced for certain services, which will make some costs more predictable.
- A third option for vision insurance to provide more choice.
- GLP-1 medications will no longer be covered for weight loss but will remain covered for diabetes treatment.
The graphic below shows cost differences for the monthly premiums for each health plan option.
(Click the graphic to view larger.)
What’s Staying the Same
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We will continue to partner with Blue Cross, offering a strong provider network. This also means employees can keep their current providers.
- Our Employee Health & Wellness Center remains the lowest-cost option with no copay.
- Dental and voluntary benefits remain unchanged.
- 100% paid cancer screenings.
- Wellhub and Blue 365 wellness resources.
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Free generic medications.
Health care costs are rising across the country due to increased demand for services, higher-cost medications and inflation. We have worked carefully to balance these pressures while minimizing the impact to employees. Even with these changes, our plans remain competitive and below other public organizations by comparison. In the 23 years we have offered this benefit, this will only be the fourth time we have increased employee/retiree paid premiums.
Because our organization is self-insured, we directly fund employee health care claims - meaning these trends directly impact our plan. Staying self-funded has enabled us to stay below the benchmark compared to other organizations, as well as give us flexibility to choose the plans and options we offer employees.
It’s important to note that these cost pressures would be much more profound if we had not changed insurance administrators last year. Our previous third-party administrator was under-reporting claims, which affected the accuracy of prior projections. Combined with increasing health care costs nationwide, these adjustments were unavoidable.
Additional details, including FAQs, are available on County Connect. We encourage you to review the new plan options and make the best decision for you and your family during open enrollment, which will be available May 1-29, 2026. The full benefits guide with all plan details is currently being finalized and will be available in the coming days to review before Open Enrollment begins.
Thank you for your understanding. We are proud to offer you and your family a health plan that provides reliable and affordable coverage.
 Brian Matthews, County Manager
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