Commissioners discuss employee insurance options; staff recommend staying with current pool

County staff and commissioners discussed employee health and ancillary benefit options at the Sept. 22 meeting after a staff review of the current plan under WCIF and alternatives such as PEP. Staff said moving to PEP would lower certain medical costs in limited scenarios but would reduce employer-provided basic life insurance from $100,000 to $35,000 unless the county purchased an additional $65,000 for employees, which would increase premiums. Staff emphasized nonmedical benefits available under the current arrangement such as an employee assistance program (EAP) that the county’s risk pool provides; the EAP includes counseling sessions that can be dispatched to workplaces after traumatic events, and jurors may receive sessions in some cases, staff said. Staff reported that WCIF offers a $100,000 standard life policy at the county’s current cost structure and said that switching to PEP could complicate reimbursement arrangements for additional life coverage and might require new contracting. After discussion, a commissioner said he recommended staying with the current WCIF structure for medical and ancillary plans and suggested revisiting employee contribution levels and fund health if necessary. No formal procurement or vendor‑change motion was made at the meeting; staff said they would continue to work on details and return with recommendations if needed.