County approves health insurance for 2025

Health insurance rates will be changing for county employees next year.

Jay County Commissioners approved a nearly $1.58 million proposal Tuesday with Physicians Health Plan for a fully insured plan for employees next year.

Commissioners reviewed two options, which allowed the county to either stay with current rates for a county contribution of just under $1.5 million or grant lower monthly rates for some plans — employees on the plan without a spouse or children will see an increase — with the county absorbing the cost for an additional $79,000. 

Commissioners Brian McGalliard and Chad Aker, absent Rex Journay, voted to absorb the additional cost in order to get the lower rates.

Employees on the plan with their spouse will see a decrease from $297.62 to $200 monthly for the high-deductible plan and from $537.86 to $400 for the traditional co-pay plan. Employees on the plan with their children will also pay less, dropping from $285.70 to $180 monthly for the high-deductible plan and from $496.86 to $360 for the traditional co-pay plan.

Those on the family plan will see the largest decrease, plummeting from $709.14 to $500 monthly for the high-deductible plan and from $961 to $750 monthly for the traditional co-pay plan.

Employees on the plan with no spouse or children will bump their contribution from $4.58 to $10 monthly for the high deductible plan and from $94.94 to $110 monthly for the traditional co-pay plan.

County auditor Emily Franks advocated for the option with the decrease in monthly rates for some employees and pointed out the county would use the full amount of its budgeted funds for health insurance with that option.

Alex Dickman of USI Insurance noted employees on individual plans who choose to join a family plan will have an additional cost not built into figures presented to commissioners Tuesday.

Tom Schweisthal of USI insurance and Dickman shared hopes to negotiate the plan renewal to a lower cost with Physicians Health Plan. (It came at an approximately 8% increase for 2025.)

Also Tuesday, commissioners approved a $253,164 contract with Canteen Services for food services at Jay County Jail starting next year.

Answering a question from Aker, Jay County Sheriff Ray Newton explained the new service will eliminate three cook jobs. (The department has struggled to fill and maintain those positions for months, with the jail matron taking on the extra duties. Currently the jail has one cook.) 

“We have a hard time finding employees right now,” said Newton.

Funding for the contract has already been allocated in the county’s budget for next year.

Newton explained after the meeting that the service operates out of Wells, Blackford and Randolph counties. Correctional facilities across the state are moving from hiring in-house cooks to contracts with food vendors because of staffing issues, he added.

Also, county attorney Wes Schemenaur noted he’s working on an ordinance related to Indiana House Enrolled Act 1158, a bill enacted in July that details procedures for county elected officials to enter into contracts.

Per the law, “the county executive (commissioners) may, by ordinance, require standard contractual language to be used in all contracts entered into by the county.” Among other changes, it also stipulates contracts must be executed or submitted for review to commissioners by a “county officer” — generally defined as elected officials — if the contracts are necessary for the county officer’s duties and if funds have been appropriated for it by the county fiscal body (county council). Under certain conditions, once a contract has been reviewed by commissioners, the county officer could execute a contract without their approval.

In other business, commissioners:

•Agreed to the following: a $127,510 annual contract for Purdue Extension Office of Jay County; moving forward with seeking an in.gov website for the county — it’s a new state requirement — while also keeping the county’s current web address at jaycounty.net; combining the Little Salamonia and Eugene Franks watersheds; begin accepting bids for county farm ground, offering a three-year contract for tillable land around Jay County Country Living and a one-year contract for the 68 acres on the western edge of Portland; removing fence from the pasture at Jay County Country Living; making accommodations for security to be present during Jay County Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas at the Courthouse, which is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 22; allowing Missy Elliott — she was elected Nov. 5 to serve as Jay County Clerk starting in January — to use the county credit card.

•OK’d giving $10,360.12 up front to Hays + Sons Complete Restoration of Muncie for restoration work to be completed in Jay County Courthouse. Commissioners agreed in October to utilize the company for restoring parts of Jay County Recorder’s Office and Jay County Prosecutor’s Office, which were damaged from a water leak in September. (The company began drying out damaged areas shortly after the leak was discovered.)

•Received a quarterly update from Jay/Portland Building and Planning director John Hemmelgarn. So far this year, 242 permits have been issued with 156 of those being in rural areas of Jay County. There have also been 15 new home permits issued — 11 of them are in rural areas of the county — and 36 commercial use permits, eight of which are in rural portions of Jay County.

•Learned the new fuel management system for Jay County Highway Department has been installed and should be operational by Monday.

•Heard plans for community coordinator Nate Kimball to host a pre-bid meeting at 2 p.m. Nov. 19 for contractors submitting proposals for home repair work associated with Jay County’s owner-occupied rehabilitation program. Plans are to seek quotes for 8 to 12 projects at the end of the month. Kimball noted hopes to complete repairs at 34 homes with the $1 million program.

•Were reminded by Schemenaur the county has until the end of the year to enter into a contract for the county’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act dollars.