Kent County will receive $308,949 in funds from the Maryland Local Government Health Cooperative (MLGHC) program by the Local Government Insurance Trust (LGIT).

Coverage from MyEasternShoreMD.com states

The funds returned to members are claim fund surpluses that are tracked separately for each local government member of MLGHC…

Since Kent County joined the MLGHC program in 2010, it has received more than $1 million in premium surplus. Kent County puts the money back into its general fund. This is money that the county never would have seen if the county was with a regular health insurer, the release states.

Ernie Crofoot, Kent County administrator, said in the release that one of the reasons Kent County joined the MLGHC program was to obtain some rate stability and predictability.

“Excellent service, lower premiums, a lot of interaction with the companies Benecon and Cigna make this a great program. I would wholeheartedly recommend the Health Cooperative to all the local jurisdictions,” Crofoot said in a statement.

In July 2010, LGIT partnered with Cigna Healthcare and Benecon to provide Maryland’s local governments an alternative to self-insuring or purchasing health insurance. The cooperative model involves several local governments joining in a purchasing group to receive the advantages of self-funding without bearing the related risks.

The MLGHC program uses a self-funding platform that lets members know where every dollar is spent. The program started with five local government entities and now has 18 members.

LGIT & Cigna are MACo Gold Corporate Partners. Maryland Local Government Health Cooperative is a MACo Bronze Corporate Partner.

To find out more about the Maryland Local Government Health Cooperative, visit LGIT’s website.