Orange County Employees ’ Health Insurance Open Enrollment Period Coming Soon
By: Orange County Communications Department
Over the past year, Orange County has made significant strides to improve its competitiveness as an employer among our regional peers, with the goal of attracting new talent and retaining skilled employees. Examples of this effort include the recent employee paid leave benefits improvements, classification & compensation adjustments, and the Orange J.U.I.C.E. workplace culture initiative. Building on the momentum of these successes, Orange County Human Resources undertook extensive research regarding our current healthcare plans in
comparison to those of similar surrounding localities. At the conclusion of this comparative research, it was found that our health care benefits offerings were not competitive. Furthermore, increased claims during the prior fiscal year would have meant significant increases to premiums if the status quo was maintained. With these factors in mind, it became clear that some changes were warranted. To help facilitate these changes, a new benefits consultant was selected, McGriff Insurance Services. With their fresh insight and assistance, Orange County was able to offset some of the impact from the increase in claims, while still pursuing increasingly competitive options for our employees, by considering new plans. Changes were also proposed to ancillary benefits, with a guiding principle of streamlining options and reducing unnecessary, redundant programs for maximum efficiency. For most employees with family members supported on their plans, the results of this effort will mean significantly reduced healthcare rates for all three (3) plan options. Two (2) of the plans, the HealthKeepers Point of Service Open Access plan (commonly known as the traditional plan), and the HealthKeepers Health Savings Account (HSA) plan (commonly known as the high deductible plan) will remain choices during this year ’ s open enrollment. Replacing the KeyCare PPO plan, a high cost plan which was not utilized by many employees, a new increased high - deductible HSA option will be available. Some benefits of this new “ higher ” deductible plan will include further - reduced rates and an increased contribution from the County to the employee ’ s health savings account (up to $1,800). Those employees choosing employee - only options will note an increase in the two (2) plans carrying from last year, but these rates have not been increased since 2014, and the County was still able to cover 95% of the premium expense. Additionally, the option of the higher deductible plan may offset some of those impacts for staff members that choose it. Employees should be aware that complete plan details will come from Orange County Human Resources in the near future. Open enrollment will begin August 29 and continue through September 9. Unlike prior years, in which employees who did not need to make changes could bypass the enrollment process, ALL employees will need to take a few moments to review and select their healthcare options for the upcoming year. Those with questions are encouraged to contact Human Resources for further information.
Page 20 | August, 2022
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