No change in diocesan employee health insurance rates

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
May 5, 2005

The Diocese of Sioux City is glad to announce that there will be no increase in diocesan health insurance costs for the next fiscal year.

"We are having an extraordinary year with all of our health insurance - both for the priest health insurance and the lay people's health insurance," said Margaret Fuentes, director of human resources for the Diocese of Sioux City. "It doesn't happen that you get to do things like this. Everyone should treat it as a gift and don't expect it for next year because there is no way that we could do that two years in a row."

After reviewing all insurance claims for the current year, it has been discovered that there is not a need to raise insurance rates for next year. This event of no change affects all diocesan employees including priests and lay people.

"Generally speaking in the health insurance world these days, you are really lucky if you get by with as little as a 10 percent increase. Most of the renewals that are being delivered out there, from what our agents tell us, are anywhere from 12 percent to as much as 30 percent rate increases," said Fuentes. "We are coming in with no rate increases, flat, which I never thought we would see again. I am just thrilled. I don't know if it gets any better than this - to be able to deliver that this year to all of our locations."

People sign-up for health insurance on a 12-month basis with whatever carrier they are using. The Diocese of Sioux City is a self-insured group, but the same things need to be done for the diocese as with any other insurance carrier. The claims for each 12-month period are reviewed to set the rates to pay the claims.

"I knew when I saw the first six months of claims that we were running ahead of where we had been a year ago," said Fuentes. "That was a really good sign. I hoped and prayed and really wanted it to come out that way. I have been at that good point other years, too, and then we've had to have an increase."

According to Fuentes, there are close to 800 people covered within the diocesan group. The underwriters are able to predict for a group that size, based on past history, where they are likely to be in the next 12 months.

"We did not hit that projected claim figure for the year that we are currently in - ending June 30," said Fuentes. "That has helped us plan for the next year - July 1 through the next June 30 - to not have to increase our claims figure. It is pretty extraordinary and unheard of."

She explained that they look at claims all the time but start intensely looking at them in February and March to try to get an idea of where they think things are heading for the year.

"For schools particularly, they are looking at their budgeting about that time and they want to know what to do," said Fuentes. "This year we told everyone to budget a 10 to 15 percent increase and that didn't happen. There were some people for whom that was a wonderful gift, so they had a little bit more to budget in other areas. For other schools, it is helping them balance their budget because they weren't in balance at that point."

Along with no increase in health insurance, benefits for diocesan lay employees are being enriched. The basic life insurance that the location pays for, for each employee, has been a $20,000 death benefit. This year it is being raised to a $30,000 benefit and adding accidental death and dismemberment feature with no change to the billing rate.

"We've been able to increase the benefits without having to change even those fundamental rates," said Fuentes. "In addition to that, we have a change in our supplemental life insurance. We now for the first time are offering supplemental life for dependents, both children and spouses. The employee can purchase that for their dependents."