Yes, at least Carver County premiums for employee medical insurance coverage. After steady increases over the past several years, the county will actually see a reduction in premiums when its current multiyear health plan agreement with HealthPartners expires at the end of the year.
Employee relations and benefits representatives shared that news at a county board meeting on Tuesday, July 9, and commissioners took action to approve new agreements covering 2025-2026 for fully insured group health insurance and 2025-2027 for self-funded group dental insurance.
The market has become more competitive, said Mia Johnson, Carver County Employee Relations, and the county recently entertained nine offers for health insurance and 11 offers for dental insurance – some fully insured, some self-funded.
HealthPartners proposals were again determined the most competitive in an analysis. Its health insurance proposal offers a 7.7 percent aggregate premium decrease in a multiyear agreement with second-year rate cap guarantee. In total, the new medical plan agreement is expected to result in a savings of some $934,000 per year in premiums.
Annual premiums are projected to be $11.2 million for health insurance and $660,000 for dental starting in 2025. Dental insurance premiums reflect just a 3.1 percent increase with a 4 percent rate cap for 2027.
The transition to self-funded dental insurance does require a one-time county funding investment of $150,000 to establish an appropriate cash flow reserve for dental claims.
Employees and the county share the cost of health and dental insurance. Health plans and contributions are subject to negotiations with each bargaining unit.
In other business, acting as the Carver County Regional Rail Authority, commissioners approved a land arrangement that will enable the city of Chaska to extend a segment of its Minnesota River Bluffs regional known as Circle the Brick Project. The action grants a permanent transportation easement to the county over two parcels of CCRRA property which enables the county to grant access rights for those sections to the city of Chaska to construct, operate and maintain a public recreation trail. The improvements will complete a gap in the existing trail.
The board also approved a land easement settlement agreement which will enable access for a Crane Creek bridge repair on the Dakota Regional Trail near the McLeod County line.
Commissioners also authorized a settlement agreement involving three class action lawsuits that were filed against the state of Minnesota and its 20 most populous counties – Carver County one of them, over the state’s tax forfeiture law which was determined by the U.S. Supreme Court to be unconstitutional. The high court ruled that when Minnesota counties kept excess proceeds from the sale of tax forfeited land beyond the total delinquent property taxes, costs, and fees owed it was a violation of the Fifth Amendment, widely known as the as the “Takings Clause,” which states that “private property shall not be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The settlement was contingent on a $109 million legislative appropriation which passed unanimously in both chambers and was signed into law in May, so is wholly funded.
The Minnesota legislature also modified the property tax forfeiture process. Carver County will implement the new law this year.
In other action, the county board filled a vacancy on the Carver County Community Development Agency, appointing applicant Greg Kummer to the position.
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