Commissioners hear items related to health insurance

The Lincoln County Commission at its July 26 meeting heard a few items pertaining to health insurance.

Dallas Bowe, the director of human resources for the county, said in her report to the commission that 13 county employees had accepted an offer to take cash in lieu of health insurance, which would save the county $10,500 a month.

She then reported the need to pay a quarterly tax on health insurance at the cost of $2.17 per employee for a total of $794.22. Commissioners Mark Peck and Mike Cole — Commissioner Jerry Bennett was in Washington D.C. — approved the payment begrudgingly, characterizing the tax as an overreach of the Affordable Care Act.

Bowe then raised an item related to the Affordable Care Act’s management requirements — a bill for $6,724 to Employee Benefit Management Services. She said she’s been in disagreement with the organization over what the county owes.

“I put this bill off for two years,” Bowe said. “I’ve been fighting it but they said we had to pay it.”

Bowe said the billing is related to producing health insurance marketplace statements known as forms 1095-A and other activities that she said the county took over and started doing for itself.

“It’s for the forms we have to file to prove we have insurance,” Peck said later in the same tone of voice he used to protest the aforementioned tax.

Bowe said because she had been contesting the bill the county had not been assessed any late fees.

Peck and Cole agreed to pay the bill out of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) fund, with Bowe noting that she would eventually be able to reimburse the fund with an anticipated Flex payment.

“On a positive note, we’ll never see (this bill) again,” said County Administrator Darren Coldwell.