Colquitt County Commission approved Tuesday changes to its health insurance plan that will set higher deductible amounts and require that employees take part in a wellness plan.

Beginning next year the county also will not provide coverage to employee spouses who are eligible for coverage at their own jobs and increase costs for those who use tobacco or have untreated health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes that increase the risk of serious health complications.

The county expects to save more than $400,000 with changes. The wellness element also is expected to keep employees healthier.

“We care about people and we want to keep them healthY,” County Administrator Mike Stewart said. “It’s not just dollars and cents.”

Currently the county’s employee insurance plan covers about 275 employees and dependents. Of those, 136 have hypertension and 63 have been diagnosed with diabetes.

The wellness plan is designed to steer employees with high-risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes toward treatment to manage their conditions. Those who do not would see deductibles increase even more.

The plan approved by commissioners also gives employees three coverage options, depending on the amount of risk they want to assume, with the lower-cost plans carrying higher deductible amounts.

Currently a plan covering an employee and spouse costs $3,744 per year, or $144 per pay period. It has a deductible of $1,150 that employees must meet before coverage kicks in and a maximum out-of-pocket amount of $5,750.

Under the plan approved this week, the employee would pay $4,056, or $156 per pay period, for the highest-level option.  It would carry a $5,400 deductible that could be lowered to $3,000 with credits earned if employees meet criteria on blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and tobacco use. Each criteria met lowers the deductible by $300.

That level of coverage would set maximum out-of-pocket costs at $7,000 if all wellness criteria are met, or $9,400 if none are met.

The low-cost option would see an employee with a spouse only paying annual premiums of $2,808, or $108 per pay period. Deductibles would rise to $7,000 with all four credits and $9,400 with no credits. Maximum out-of-pocket costs would range from $11,000 to $13,400, depending on the wellness criteria met.

Each criteria on the wellness categories lowers the deductible by $300.