Camden County employees will pay more for health insurance

Camden County employees will pay more for health insurance benefits as a way to save the county more than $350,000 a year.

“It was a very difficult decision,” commission Chairman David Rainer  said. “It was done to help bring the budget in line. These are just hard times.”

Rainer said he and other commissioners struggled with the decision because county workers have not been given a cost of living increase in at least three years. The alternative may have been to cut jobs, he said.

“I think some were dismayed,” Rainer said of employees. “To them, it was like taking money away. It hit them pretty hard, the way the economy is.”

During a presentation to employees, county administrator Steve Howard  said health insurance costs have risen 98 percent the past four years, but there has been no adjustment to employee costs since 2004.

The contribution for an individual with full coverage was increased by $1.08 every two weeks from the current rate of $32.85. The contribution for a family with full coverage was increased $36.46 from the current rate of $53.63 for each two-week pay period.

Annual deductible fees for individuals were increased from $200 to $300 and from $600 to $900 for families, and the co-payment for doctor visits was increased from $20 to $30.

The changes go into effect Jan. 1, Howard said.

Employees were told workers in the private sector often pay much more for coverage.

Howard said the hike in employee contributions for health care will help, but it’s still not enough to balance health care costs, estimated to still be about $150,000 in the red.

“There are still issues with that plan,” he said. “It’s really about money — money we don’t have.”

Commissioner Charlene Sears  cast the lone vote opposing the rate increase at last week’s meeting. She said some committee members who recommended the changes mistakenly believed the increase was monthly — not for every two-week pay period.

“There was a lot more increase than they thought it would be,” Sears said. “They can’t afford that increase.”

Sears said commissioners should have done a better job forecasting the loss of revenue when the budget was developed earlier this year because of the bad economy. She predicted the county budget will have to be adjusted again before the fiscal year ends June 30.

“They should have done a complete overhaul,” she said. “To me, the budget process failed.”