At Tuesday’s meeting of the Brown County Commissioners Court, consideration was given to several options for the County’s employee health care plan for the new fiscal year.

Bart Johnson of Painter & Johnson Financial presented the options available for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which begins October 1.  If the County decides to keep the current health care plan as is, the cost will increase by 7.5% over the current year.  Johnson said that is an improvement from last year, when the 2023-24 plan increased by 9.2% over the previous year.  That is because the County’s plan has had a lower claims-to-premium ratio than last year.  The County’s health care plan is with Blue Cross, and is purchased through the Texas Association of Counties.  Being part of the TAC pool significantly lowers our premium cost, according to Johnson.

The 7.5% increase would translate to an increase in total premium cost of about $300,000 for the fiscal year.  One option — increasing the office co-pay to $30 from the current $25, and increasing the annual deductible to $1,000 from the current $750 — would produce an increase of 5%.  Another option — increasing the co-pay to $30 and increasing the deductible to $1,500 — would produce an increase of 1.5%.

No action was taken today by the Commissioners.  They will study the options and make a decision before the deadline of June 28.

In the only other business conducted, approval was given to the minutes from the last Commissioners Court meeting, and approval was given for the payment of bills as presented by the County Auditor’s Office.