Health Insurance Buy Back Increase

Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman wants to save the County money by having more County employees participate in the County’s health benefits buy back program. That’s why Weitzman has been working closely with County Executive Tom Souzzi and the County’s Human Resources Department to increase the level of reimbursement participants receive from the program.

Many governments such as Nassau County offer cash incentives to employees to voluntarily opt out of their health insurance plans. (“buy back program”). Participants must have alternative coverage to receive the buy back. Most buy back participants are covered by a spouse or domestic partner’s family health insurance. The County currently saves $7.6 million on health benefits by offering buy backs.

"If the County gives a little bit more, we will save a lot more,” said Weitzman, who proposed this idea in 2007 with several other initiaives to save money on health benefits without cutting services. The report was titled-Providing Affordable Health Benefits for County Employees and Retirees - A Report by the Comptroller's Audit Advisory Committee.

"With the current state of the economy many employees can take advantage of a program that can provide them with extra funds, while the County can potentially save millions of taxpayer dollars,” Weitzman said.

Weitzman said that the current rate for buy backs has not been updated since 1998, when the program was first established. Back then, the $2,000 buy back amount was over 50% of the total cost for family benefits, which at the time was $3,877. Since then, health care costs have exploded. The county now pays $15,105.36 a year for family coverage, while still offering a $2,000 a year buy back.

The County’s Human Resources Department has distributed a short questionnaire developed by the Comptroller’s Office to all Nassau County employees in order to gather information to help decide whether and how to increase the buy back. The program would only be implemented if enough new people sign on to make it financially advantageous to the county and would have to be approved by the Nassau County Legislature and its unions.

"In these difficult financial times, anything the county can do to save money would definitely be worth doing,” he said.

After analyzing the questionnaire responses over the next few weeks, the County will determine whether to offer an increased buy back.

For more information, visit the Health Benefits FAQ’s at http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Comptroller/Employees/Health/index.html

Weitzman looks to save County money by increasing number of employees participating in health insurance “buy backs”