Six Sonoma County fire agencies are among about 40 fire districts statewide that are now searching for new employee health insurance coverage.
Six Sonoma County fire agencies are among about 40 fire districts statewide that are searching for new employee health insurance coverage after the consortium that has provided their medical benefits opted to end its health care program due to higher-than-anticipated premiums for the coming year.
Fire Risk Management Services, a Sacramento-based statewide “joint powers authority,” decided June 23 not to renew its existing medical benefits plan for 2026, after the plan expires on Dec. 31.
This leaves member agencies with a short window to secure affordable insurance so that their employees and retirees may choose their new benefits during open enrollment, which begins Oct. 1.
“The challenge is finding the best option that maintains as close to the same level of benefits our employees currently have, at the most reasonable price point,” said Sonoma Valley Fire District Chief Steve Akre, who also has served as FRMS board president since 2022.
Within the Sonoma County region, Sonoma Valley, Gold Ridge, Schell-Vista, Sonoma County, Northern Sonoma County and Cloverdale fire protection districts will all be affected by this development.
In turn, thousands of local people – not just the roughly 1,000 actual policyholders but also their family members – who are covered under these plans could be forced to change plans and pay more for their insurance premiums as a result.
“It’s not as if employees are going to be without health care,” said Gold Ridge Fire Protection Chief Shepley Schroth-Cary. “We will have a resolution.”
That resolution may vary from district to district, Schroth-Cary added.
The purpose of the joint powers authority was to ease or minimize the costs of insurance paid by each agency.
“Due to the fact that health care is going up, they are no longer going to be supporting health benefits, so we have to find new health benefits,” said Stacie McCambridge, a Schell-Vista Fire Protection District administrator who is one of the district’s managers of employee health coverage.
While board members and chiefs alike expected some creep in insurance costs, the JPA was surprised to learn its insurance premiums would increase 60% in 2026.
Rather than struggle to pay the exponentially higher insurance premium, which Akre described as “not sustainable” and “not reasonable,” the FRMS board opted to end the program.
“It wasn’t for a lack of engagement or interest or awareness, this was something that we just couldn’t anticipate,” said Akre.
He speculated the increase has something to do with people going to the doctor again after delaying or skipping visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had a couple of years of low utilization,” he said. “We’re now feeling – over the last year to two – a rebound where people are now feeling more comfortable and we’re seeing really high utilization rates.”
Press Democrat Staff Writer Amie Windsor contributed to this report.
You can reach Staff Writer Isabel Beer at 707-933-2734 or isabel.beer@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @IsabelSongBeer