Kingston, NY (February 20, 2025) – Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher released an audit of the County’s self-insurance program. The audit revealed that the County had neglected to separately account for the health insurance program. The Administration has been working to correct this issue.
The Audit also found that health insurance costs are higher for most County employees than that of the City of Kingston. County employee contribution rates (10% to 20% depending on hire date, position, and bargaining unit) exceed the fixed rates of City employees. To improve employee retention, the County should conduct a health insurance analysis to compare benefits with peer organizations and consider capping employee contributions for health insurance to a fixed dollar amount rather than a percentage. The County has not updated its health insurance buyout offer in 20 years, and the buyout amount varies across employee groups. Management should utilize the analysis to determine the ideal buyout amount to encourage more employees to opt out while not causing a burden to the remaining participants of the health insurance program.
