County keeps its health costs in check

By Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporter

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most e-mailed articles

While overall employee health-care costs nationwide are rising an average of 13 to 17 percent per year, the county held its increase last year to 1.8 percent. "For a year, we basically escaped what would have otherwise been an increase in the magnitude of $20 million" for overall health-care costs, Call said.

But those savings were "a one-time phenomenon," and costs are rapidly rising again this year, Call said.

County Executive Ron Sims plans to invest last year's savings in ways intended to slow the continued escalation of health-care costs. A Health Care Advisory Task Force appointed by Sims will report Monday on what the county can do in cooperation with other employers to control costs.

"We've got to take these savings and reinvest them to achieve some long-term savings," Call said. "I think we can do that, and that the task force has given us a blueprint to do that."

Without additional measures to rein in health spending, the county projects those costs will double from $124 million last year to $249 million in 2008. The county pays the full cost of premiums for about 15,000 employees and 14,000 family members and domestic partners.

To trim costs last year, the county reduced the number of health plans available to employees from three to two, increased employee co-payments for prescription drugs and hired a pharmaceutical manager to oversee the drug-benefit program.

In its initial report in February, the health care task force urged the county to look for examples of health plans that build in incentives to improve care while reducing costs.

King County and other employers represented on the task force negotiate health plans for 350,000 subscribers. The Sims administration believes that gives those employers the financial clout to demand more cost-effective plans.

Task force members include representatives of the city of Seattle, Microsoft, Starbucks, Washington Mutual and Costco.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More local news headlines...