Fresno and Tulare County employees benefit from SJVIA partnership

September 7, 2011

Fresno and Tulare County government employees will benefit from a health insurance rate pass for the 2012 Plan Year, the San Joaquin Valley Insurance Authority (SJVIA) announced today.

At its most recent meeting, the SJVIA Board of Directors voted to keep health insurance costs neutral, participate in a shared risk program, and approved a partnership with Delta Health Systems to focus on prevention and wellness.

“The SJVIA is proof that well managed collaborative efforts can be effective in controlling and stabilizing costs for our employees,” said Tulare County Supervisor Pete Vander Poel, SJVIA Board of Directors Vice Chairman. “We look forward to continued success and finding ways to keep costs down for all participating entities.”

The SJVIA was formed by the County of Fresno and County of Tulare in October 2009 for the purpose of achieving greater critical mass for health insurance volume purchasing and reduced administrative costs. The SJVIA has a current budget of approximately $66 million and purchases health insurance for more than 8,000 Fresno and Tulare County employees.

Shared Risk

Beginning in 2012, the County of Fresno and Tulare will also share risk in the SJVIA.  Shared risk is an arrangement in which financial liabilities are apportioned among the participating entities with the goal of decreasing cost volatility for each entity over time.

“Working together, Fresno and Tulare Counties have been able to better manage our employee healthcare costs through administrative efficiencies and enhanced volume purchasing,” said Fresno County Supervisor Judy Case, President of the SJVIA Board of Directors.

Prevention & Wellness

Additionally, the SJVIA Board of Directors recently approved a prevention and wellness program in partnership with Delta Health Systems. The effort is focused on employee onsite biometric screenings, health coaching and education and is designed to help employees control problems they may not have known about or were not managing correctly. 

“We are also excited about kicking off a new wellness program for all of our employees,” Supervisor Case said. “Both counties will benefit by having a healthier workforce and more control over our healthcare costs.”