Bollinger County finds potential fine cheaper than insurance

Bollinger County, Missouri, officials say it is cheaper to risk a fine for violating the federal Affordable Care Act than to provide health insurance for their employees.

The head of the Missouri Association of Counties (MAC) said he is not aware of another county in Missouri taking Bollinger County's approach.

Dick Burke, MAC executive director, said county governments in Missouri typically offer health insurance. Burke said counties can't opt out of the law.

"There is no escape, no out for anybody," he said.

"A lot of counties are self-insuring. This is the first I have heard of a county that isn't doing anything," Burke said.

Bollinger County Clerk Brittany Hovis said, "We have never had health insurance."

Even the county's officials have to obtain health insurance through their spouses' employers or obtain their own individual policies, she said.

"It definitely hurts us getting employees and keeping them," she added.

Federal law required medium-sized employers -- including local governments -- with 50 to 99 employees to offer health insurance beginning Jan. 1, 2016, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Bollinger County government has about 65 employees.

"It is all new to us," Hovis said.

The Bollinger County Commission looked at health-care options but decided providing insurance would be too costly.

"We talked with several brokers over the last two years," Hovis said,

It would cost more than $100,000 annually to provide health insurance, Hovis said, adding that is not affordable for the financially strapped county government at this time.

"For a small county, that is a significant cost," she said.

County officials estimate the county may have to pay a $50,000 fine for violating the law. Even so, Hovis said that would be less of a strain on the budget than providing insurance.

Hovis added county officials at this point have not received any notification from the federal government regarding any possible fine or the size of such a fine.

In addition, the county's action alone would not trigger a fine, said Sarah Feldman, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

She wrote in an email that "an employer has to not offer coverage, and at least one employee has to go through the marketplace, purchase insurance and receive a tax credit for the penalty to kick in."

She said the employer-responsibility provision of the federal law doesn't affect most employers, either because they are small employers with fewer than 50 employees or because they are large companies that offered health insurance for their employees before passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

Feldman said the senator's staff doesn't know whether any other Missouri counties are refusing to provide health insurance for their employees.

"We're not aware of any office or organization that keeps tabs on how many counties in Missouri might be doing the same thing," she said.

Hovis said county officials wish they had the revenue to provide health insurance.

"It is not like we don't want it," she said.

Bollinger County government probably will have to provide health insurance in the future.

The county otherwise likely would be faced with increasing fines over the years, she said.

"We would like to provide insurance as soon as possible," Hovis said.

Still, providing insurance coverage will require money be taken from somewhere else in the budget, she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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