MANSFIELD — Richland County commissioners will find out Friday morning how big an increase they will have to pay for employee medical insurance.
That’s when the County Employee Benefits Consortium of Ohio, a 42-county organization that includes Richland, will inform its members of their premium rates for 2023.
Wendy Dillingham, CEBCO’s senior benefits analyst, invited county commissioners and other officials to attend the session, which will be conducted virtually.
There seems little question rates will rise given the fact CEBCO paid out more in claims than it collected in premiums from Richland County and its employees from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.
CEBCO paid out $8.7 million in medical and prescription claims to Richland County employees during the time period, according to Dillingham, who said the consortium collected $8.5 million in premiums.
Across the member counties, CEBCO paid out $222 million in claims and collected $208.8 million in premiums during the period, she said.
The consortium began as a group of six counties in 2004 as Ohio counties struggled with unpredictable rate increases in health insurance. Anthem is the county’s medical care insurance carrier.
“Things do go in cycles,” Dillingham told commissioners. “You have had some outstanding years. I wanted to remind you of the good years you have had that resulted in significantly lower renewals.”
Commissioner Tony Vero said he estimated the increase will be about $400,000 to the county’s general fund.
Dillingham said there were an average of 545 Richland County employees enrolled in the insurance coverage during the time period. Including family members, for employees who utilize the plan, there were 1,194 total members.
She said the average per month premium cost for each member was about $606.
Vero also said the county is considering how it may use American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover some of the increase for medical costs related to COVID-19.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners authorized the City of Mansfield to place ShotSpotter gunshot sound-detection technology at the county Job & Family Services facility at 171 Park Ave. East.
The city launched a one-year pilot ShotSpotter project in March 2021, using a $47,500 state grant to cover one square mile of the city. It received a new $148,500 grant earlier this year that will allow that coverage area to be tripled for another year.
Mansfield police Chief Keith Porch told City Council in June that the location of the three square miles will be based on crime stats data for shots fired and weapons expenses. He said the areas do not have to be contiguous.
ShotSpotter, which uses acoustic sensors on buildings and light poles, provides a specific location and an audio recording of the incident in less than a minute, allowing officers to more quickly close in on the site.
Information includes the location of the shooter, number of shots fired and even direction of travel if the suspect is moving. The information is sent to dispatchers at the same time it’s also transmitted to officers on patrol.
