High health care expenses hit Cumberland County employees – The Fayetteville Observer

Increasing health care expenses might keep more than 2,000 county employees from seeing decreased health insurance deductibles, despite recent promises by governmental officials.

In a 4-1 decision, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Thursday indicated support for a plan to cover the county’s projected multi-million dollar loss in health care claims. The vote was at the commissioners’ agenda session, so they will consider the issue again at a regular meeting.

Chairman Glenn Adams, Vice Chairwoman Toni Stewart, and commissioners Jeannette Council and Larry Council supported the proposal. Commissioner Jimmy Keefe opposed, and commissioners Michael Boose and Charles Evans were not present.

That plan did not include lowering by $1,000 the current deductible of $2,000 for individuals and $6,000 for families, which Chairman Glenn Adams said the board approved last year. In fact, the plan included increasing the current deductibles to $2,500 or $3,000 for individuals.

“It’s just not good news,” Adams said. “A benefit isn’t a benefit if you can’t afford to pay it.”

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Without lowering the deductible rates, County Manager Amy Cannon projected that the county would see a shortfall of $4.38 million during this fiscal year. “We’ve had a catastrophic year,” she said.

Since the 2020-2021 fiscal year, net paid claims for county employees have increased by 21.5% from around $18.4 million to $22.3 million, according to data from Kevin Quinn of USI Insurance Services.

Quinn called this increase a “horrible statistic.” He said explained that, during the beginning of the pandemic, many people held off on elective surgeries and routine doctor visits. Now, they’re having to pay for those delays.

For example, a woman with stage one breast cancer would have to pay $75,000-$100,000 for treatment costs, according to Quinn. A woman who develops stage four breast cancer because she delayed treatment would have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“People stayed at home. They might’ve caught things too late,” Quinn said. “This isn’t unexpected, but it is unfortunate.”

As a result, the county has seen 21 claims of more than $100,000 and nine claims of more than $200,000, according to Quinn. In addition, health care costs have increased by 7% since the previous fiscal year, leading to even higher claims.

What commissioners are considering

To address this projected $4.38 million shortfall, the board approved a plan for splitting the cost: absorbing $2 million of the risk with the general fund and increasing budgeted expenses for the employer match next year.

“That’s the option I think may be more palatable,” Cannon said.

If the board members decided to decrease the deductibles, Cannon projected an even greater shortfall of $5.3 million.

“These are big numbers,” said Commissioner Jimmy Keefe. “If healthcare does what the price of groceries and the price of gas are doing …”

Keefe added that he would rather pay a higher monthly health insurance fee than get a lower deductible. The other board members did not comment on that idea.

The board agreed that preventative care was key in helping offset future costs, especially with the rising price of health care.

“There’s an inverse relationship between what you spend in preventative care and what you spend in catastrophic care,” said Lindsay Wetherill, national practice leader for USI. “Once a catastrophic claim hits, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

As a result, the board also supported a new contract with Proactive MD for employee wellness clinics at a cost of $612,000 per year plus a one-time implementation fee of $41,000. The county currently uses Novant.

The wellness clinics will include services currently offered, along with services like biometric screenings, pre-employment drug testing, at-home visits and 24/7 access to telemedicine, according to Wetherill.

In other news from the meeting, the board approved:

The allocation of $5,500 per month for 120 months to Hope Mills for operation costs of a new YMCA aquatic centerA contract renewal with Southern Health Partners for health care services at the Cumberland County Detention CenterA property lease agreement with Coastal Horizons, a nonprofit that provides mental health services to individuals dealing with incarcerationThe transfer of control of the emergency rental assistance program to the Department of Social ServicesA grant application of $50 million, with a maximum 35% match, for a new high school.

Staff writer Ivey Schofield can be reached at ischofield@gannett.com