A $5.8 million error: St. Joseph County health insurance fund is in the red

[TexasTowelie]

SOUTH BEND — St. Joseph County's health insurance fund is depleted because of a budget mistake that went unnoticed for years, and county leaders are now trying to plug a $5.8 million hole.

The fund has operated at a loss each year since 2014 by not bringing in enough revenue to cover expenses.

Officials blamed the problem on a mistake that was made for years and just recently came to light. The error stemmed from the cost of insurance for retirees not being factored into the annual budget; only the cost of current county employees was taken into account. The plan provides insurance for about 1,070 county employees and 200 retirees.

As a result, the fund has been sharply under-budgeted — by $6 million in 2015, $1.9 million last year and an estimated $5.2 million this year. Surpluses from previous years were drained to cover the deficits. Going into 2018, the county is nearly $5.8 million in the red.

Read more: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/a-million-error-st-joseph-county-health-insurance-fund-is/article_6c65307b-5e10-51f9-9ae8-e93c4e128411.html

[shraby]

1. A million here, a million there and pretty soon they're talking real money.