Habersham County employees will have to pay more for their health insurance next year. Commissioners approved a bi-weekly employee contribution plan that will cost employees approximately $22 per month, according to county manager Phil Sutton.
“Our cost for family coverage has always been very competitive with other jurisdictions we compare ourselves to,” Sutton told commissioners during a called meeting on May 4. He said the average contribution for participants in comparable cities and counties they survey is $49 per month.
The employee contribution plan was proposed as a way to help offset the rising cost of health insurance which Sutton said is “one of the largest expenses we have.”
County employee insurance claims are up 16.7% this year over last. Employee contributions will raise approximately $70,000 to help the county cover increased costs. Additionally, commissioners approved a proposal from Sutton to switch reinsurance carriers. Sutton said moving to Great Midwest Insurance could save the county approximately $200,000.
The county commission also approved switching its pharmacy benefits plan from CVS Caremark to Southern Scripts.
Sutton called Southern Scripts an “expert in controlling high-cost specialty drugs.” He said last year’s increase in that class of medical care for county employees and their families increased 121%. “There are 60 very high-cost drugs that some of our employees or their dependents are using and it’s causing quite a substantial burden to the plan in the last year or so,” Sutton said. “Southern Scripts has a way to contain those costs by addressing each one of those cases on an individual level.”
There will be no change in the county’s dental or vision coverage next year.
Essential worker bonus
In addition to the insurance changes, the Habersham County Commission on Monday unanimously approved pandemic bonuses for most of the county’s employees.
Full-time active employees will receive a one-time payment of $300. Part-time active employees will receive a one-time payment of $200.
Sutton recommended the bonuses as part of an Essential Services Compensation plan to “recognize the efforts of our employees” who’ve had to continue working during the pandemic.
“With the outbreak of the coronavirus and the fact that the county has been deemed to be an essential service, we’ve had to continue operations unbroken the last several months,” Sutton said when presenting the plan to commissioners. “That has put a strain on our employees to continue to provide those essential services.”
The one-time bonuses will cost the county $107,959. The 41 county employees who were furloughed as a result of the pandemic will not receive bonuses. Those employees are in Animal Care and Control, Superior Court, Parks and Recreation, the Tax Assessors Office, and Probate Court.
Furloughed employees are not getting paid.
Court employees will return to work when the courts resume jury trials. As of now, that’s not scheduled to happen until June 12. County parks and recreation staff will return to work “based on the demand for their services,” Sutton says, estimating that could be early June.
As for when other furloughed workers will be allowed to return to work, Sutton says “It all depends on when we see a strong reduction in the number of cases of COVID for an extended period of time.”
