The county’s health insurance is self-funded over budget on a yearly basis.   Brown County Schools have a plan that is resulting in savings.

Indiana Code 5-10-8-2.6. Local unit public employers and employees; programs; self-insurance; payment of part of cost; noncancelability; retired employees

Aug 16, 2021. Council approved an additional $250,000 for Health Insurance Expenses and another $35,000 for a Wellness Incentive Program.  Additional subsidies are expected before the end of the year.

Oct 29, 2020.  BCD. Health insurance not increasing for school employees

• Post: Brown County Matters.  “For the third year in a row, Brown County Schools employees will not see an increase in their insurance premiums.” The County has a different and self-insured plan that may be among the best in America (high quality, low cost) from an employee standpoint. However, the county plan comes with higher risks and costs that routinely exceed budgeted amounts: Over $500,000 in 2020; over $650,000 in 2019, and over $700,000 in 2018. The current contract with some changes has been extended for one year and expires in 2021.

Sep 22, 2020.  Council moves $500,000 to pay health insurance for rest of year By Suzannah Couch

Sep 15, 2020. BCD. COUNTY NEWS: Health insurance changes; 

• At the Sept. 3 meeting, Stinson estimated the total cost savings with implementing the strategies could be around $310,000. But the biggest savings could be seen when reinsurance quotes are received later this fall in October.
• “The reinsurance is the real costly part of our plan,” commissioner Diana Biddle said.

Oct 1, 2019.  Council OKs transferring $650,000 to health trust fund Staff Reports

Nov 16, 2018.  Access to health care expands: Clinic now open 5 days with county, schools on board

“By opening the clinic at Eagle Park, Hammack said the impact on the school district’s health insurance fund has been “profound.”   “We are sitting right now with a health insurance fund of a little over $700,000. It’s an extraordinary thing,” she said. “… It’s almost a million and a half dollars that is a total amount saved. That’s massive in this short amount of time.”

• County government’s health insurance fund has been stretched as well. For 2018, the county has had to appropriate almost a million dollars to help cover health insurance, including $800,000 just in September.

Aug 10, 2018, SUPERINTENDENT’S CORNER: Health care spending decreasing for school district By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist

• When the school board and I first began working together in July of 2016,  one of the first areas of concern that we identified was the cost of health insurance benefits and the subsequent negative impact on our budget.
• Before we made changes to our plan, our district had a massive deficit in the health insurance fund. We were in a situation where we had to make substantial lump sum payments to our “third-party administrator” (TPA) to catch up on bills that were due.
• We have “lived” our new plan for just over one year. I am thrilled to share that the results have been extraordinarily positive. We have moved from a situation of paying annual lump sum payments totaling over a half a million dollars to pay the bills to a situation where we have a reserve of well over the same. This translates into a million-dollar impact in just one year.

Jan 9, 2018.  Healthy outlook: Community health clinic set to open on school property

• All people — whether they’re associated with the school district or not — will be able to use the services at Brown County Health and Wellness Center through a membership arrangement, Brown County Schools Superintendent Laura Hammack said.
• School district employees will have access to the clinic through their medical coverage, while the general public can pay for a membership to the clinic in what’s known as the direct-primary care model. Memberships are month to month and can be canceled at any time.

May 9, 2017.  SCHOOL NEWS: Health insurance costs; personnel changes

• Brown County Schools employees and retirees will be paying more for health insurance next year.
• In addition to the new premiums, the school board also approved a contract with Anthem for a Brown County Schools Health Benefit Trust. The trust will allow the school district to build up money to be used for emergency medical situations by raising premiums and school board contributions, Superintendent Laura Hammack said.
• Previously, those types of emergency medical bills were paid for out of the general fund, which has a deficit of more than $1 million.
• Premiums for a single person with a $1,000 deductible increase from $132.80 to $139.44, based on 18 pays. A single retiree with a $1,000 deductible will pay a $371.85 premium compared to $231.92 premium in May 2016 after VEBA Bridge Coverage.

Aug 17, 2021. COUNTY NEWS: Policies approved; sign ordinance sent back; county health insurance review requested By Staff Reports

• The cost to provide medical health insurance to county employees was about $1.8 million for 2016, commissioner Diana Biddle said.
• Biddle said prior to establishing the health trust fund — which went live in July and pays health insurance claims — it was difficult to determine the total expenses associated with providing health insurance “because reinsurance would come back and it would go in to county general fund. It wasn’t really refunding our insurance.”“That was one of the main reasons we went with the health insurance trust fund, which keeps (almost) everything in one pot of money, so we can actually see where it’s going and match the numbers up,” she said.

  The hope is that the health trust fund will also develop a cash reserve to help pay expenses during years when the county has high amounts of medical bills, Brown County Auditor Beth Mulry said.