The Worcester County Commissioners unanimously approved the Health Benefits Committee’s FY2026 recommendations during the March 18 meeting.

Human Resources Director Stacy Norton presented the committee’s recommendation and said the county’s medical and pharmacy vendor, CareFirst, submitted a renewal with a 12.24 percent increase. The renewal cost for medical and pharmacy was presented at $3,960,251. Norton said the committee recommended using $888,801 from the rate stabilization reserve to reduce the net premium increase and bring employee rates to 7.99 percent.

Norton also said the committee recommended adding two state-mandated changes; she identified one explicitly as adult hearing aid coverage up to $3,000. The committee recommended continuing current dental with CareFirst (if applicable), vision with VSP and county-only life/disability with Guardian, according to Norton’s presentation.

Commissioner Peterssic (sic) moved approval; the motion passed unanimously.

Ending: Commissioners approved the FY2026 health benefits recommendations and directed staff to implement the renewals and the mandated coverage changes in plan documents and employee communications.