With open enrollment looming and the collapse of a longtime insurance provider leaving firefighters at risk of losing health coverage, both the Sonoma Valley Fire District and the Schell-Vista Fire Protection District voted this week to adopt new health insurance packages with broker Keenan & Associates.
The decisions, made respectively on Tuesday, Sept. 30 and Wednesday, Oct. 1 ended months of uncertainty for active firefighters, retirees and their families after Fire and Risk Management Services (FRMS), a Sacramento-based joint powers authority that had provided affordable coverage to six county fire agencies for more than a decade, announced in June it would no longer offer health benefits.
At Sonoma Valley Fire District, the stakes were especially high.
It is one of the largest departments in Sonoma County and covers nearly 20 retirees who were promised lifetime health care, along with more than 70 active firefighters and their families. In addition, some of its retirees living outside California require plans with nationwide networks.
“This was not just about finding coverage for our current employees,” Sonoma Valley fire Chief Steve Akre told the district’s Board of Directors on Tuesday, Sept. 30. “It was about keeping a promise we made decades ago to our retirees and ensuring no firefighter family starts the new year without medical care.”
Under Sonoma Valley’s agreement with the Torrance, California-based Keenan & Associates, employees and retirees will have be able to choose from Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealthcare or local Western Health Advantage plans — including nationwide options and, for the first time, high-deductible plans with health savings accounts.
Western Health Advantage is based in Sacramento and contracts with Providence hospitals throughout Northern California, including Napa and Sonoma counties.
Sonoma Valley currently spends about $1.4 million annually on health benefits. While some plans came in higher, the Keenan package offered benefits at comparable costs close to existing premium rates, with tentative pricing estimated at $1.39 million.
Still, the shift to small-group pricing under the Affordable Care Act means costs will now vary by age and gender, with some families paying more and others less.
“Some of these plans are higher, some are lower, but at the end of the day, they’re comparable to what we’ve been paying,” said Akre. “It’s not perfect, but it keeps everyone covered.”
HR consultant Deborah Muchmore of Muchmore Than Consulting, who advised the district during the transition, described the arrangement as a stopgap designed to fortify retirees.
“It allows us to protect retirees during this transition,” Muchmore said Sept. 30, while attending the SVFD board meeting.
President Christopher Derner, of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 3593, which represents SVFD firefighters, said union members there are relieved by the outcome.
“We’re very happy with the result,” he said. “It was time-sensitive and stressful, but our members can now be assured they’ll have medical care when the new year starts.”
Across the valley in Schellville, the Schell-Vista’s Board of Directors approved the recommendation unanimously on Oct. 1, opting for a three-tiered package that includes Kaiser and Blue Shield plans, with the possibility of adjustments after the agency’s labor negotiations with the IAFF Local 1401, which represents firefighters, conclude.
The deal also comes with some overall savings, although similarly to Sonoma Valley, employees hired after the Affordable Care Act went into effect may face some pricing differences due to age and gender. Schell-Vista will now pay $10,635.22 for insurance through Keenan, down from the $11,361.77 under its previous arrangement.
“With Keenan, we know what we’re getting,” Schell-Vista board member Ken Finn said during the Oct. 1 meeting. “They’ve always had really good customer service when we worked with them before.”
Stacie McCambridge, an administrator at Schell-Vista who helped secure coverage, pointed to the benefits of Keenan’s digital tools: “Each person puts their own stuff in, and then they have their own app to go in to see what their coverages are, where they’re at on their deductibles. Everything is kind of like a payroll service.”
As the dust began to settle following the period of coverage uncertainty, fire leadership expressed optimism that the new plans would allow more local healthcare options and comprehensive coverage.
“Overall, I’m feeling a big sense of relief,” Akre said. “This was an opportunity to expand some of the offerings that were not available through FRMS and I’m just happy that we can do that as well. I feel like, to an extent, the more choices that we can offer our people, the better that they can try to take care of themselves and their families.”