Answering Your Questions From the Insurance Survey

This week, Kurt Subra, Chief Financial Officer, and Renee McPhee of Perspective Consulting Partners, will address a common comment that many of you provided as feedback on the Insurance Survey. A sampling of the comments:

• The flexibility of the family plans is somewhat limiting. Other places allow a plus one or have other levels in between and that would be beneficial.
• I wish there was a better family option for those employees who only have a spouse. The premium seems very high when you don't have an entire family of children to also be covered but just 1 additional person.
• I would change that you can add one child to a plan instead of having to add a whole family.
• Would like the option of adding only 1 person to "family" coverage for less $ vs. adding entire family at a higher cost.

Heartland AEA offers medical insurance coverage with two options: single and family. Staff raised two common concerns in the Insurance Survey: 1) the family premium is too high and 2) staff would like additional coverage options, such as employee plus child or employee plus spouse.   

In setting medical plan premiums, the Agency has to ensure that the premiums cover medical claims and administration costs for our insurance plan. If family premiums are lowered, the single premiums will need to be increased to offset the reduction in total family premium collected. The Agency would also need to re-evaluate our contributions towards both single and family coverage.   

The Insurance Committee has previously evaluated offering employee + child and employee + spouse options, in addition to family coverage (a 4 tier premium structure).  However, the family would have higher insurance premiums under an insurance plan with more coverage options, and Heartland AEA’s enrollment has a greater number of families enrolled than those with employee + child or employee + spouse. Because this 4-tier structure would negatively impact more Heartland AEA employees than benefit, the Committee determined the single/family premiums to be the most appropriate.