A township resolution will enable the transition from the New Jersey State Health Benefits Program on May 1.
The Harrison Township Committee has voted to withdraw from the New Jersey State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) and switch in three months to a joint health insurance fund to provide employee benefits.
“We’re deep into that process now with having a meeting with the (township) employees,” said Township Administrator Dennis Chambers. “We’re letting them know what their options are going to be, what’s coming at them. Now they’ll just be a succession of steps to implement this and looking for a May 1 switchover.”
A township resolution will enable the transition, while another will begin the process of terminating the partnership with the SHBP. The committee unanimously approved both measures.
While the SHBP is operated by the state, the joint health insurance fund is managed by several local shared services and gives customers more options when choosing a plan. Compared with the SHBP, it is a more standard and centralized plan.
The reason for the change in insurance providers has to do with the state-mandated increases to benefits faced by communities across the state. Harrison is no exception. According to Mayor Adam Wingate, the township faces a 36% increase in benefits that would have resulted in $400,000 increase to the municipal budget.
A township goal was to lower that increase to about 8% to 9% in order to reduce the burden on local taxpayers. Exact details of the new partnership have not been disclosed.
“While I never want to see an increase,” Wingate said in a statement at the beginning of the year, “this option is significantly more manageable than the 36% increase we are otherwise facing.”
The next Harrison Township Committee meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday.
