Warner Robins raises health costs for employees

Warner Robins employees will have a little more taken out of their paychecks starting in January for health insurance, and those who actually need health care will pay a lot more.

The City Council on Tuesday approved changes in the self-administered health plan that raised payroll health care deductions from $16 to $18.31 per period for individuals, and from $30 to $32.31 for families. Employees are paid every two weeks.

But the biggest hit will come to those who actually need health care. The council raised the annual out-of-pocket maximum that employees will pay from $500 to $1,000 for individuals and from $1,500 to $3,000 for families.

Human Resources Director Bryan Fobbus said the increases were needed to cover additional costs related to the Affordable Health Care Act. The act mandates that co-pays for medication count toward deductibles. That increased the city’s costs, Fobbus said, so employees had to be charged more to make up for the loss in the health care fund.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Warner Robins raises health costs for employees."