Morris Township Discusses Proposed Health Insurance Premium Increases

On Tuesday, November 29th, members of the Township Committee joined elected officials from five neighboring towns to discuss the negative impacts municipalities across the state will feel next year as a result of proposed health insurance premium increases through the State Health Benefit Program.

You can watch the recording here.

In Morris Township, our public employees receive their health insurance coverage through the State Health Benefit Program. The proposed premium increases are a gut punch not only to Morris Township, but to our employees, whom we relied upon for basic services and emergency response capabilities during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with all other towns in New Jersey, Morris Township went through financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the burdens of added costs, delays, and changes to regulations. As we reopened for business earlier this year, we faced inflationary costs that we'd not seen in over a generation. That inflation caused towns like ours to delay projects and reduce long-term investments in order to stay within budget.

Now, as we finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for our public finances, public employees and municipalities are left grappling with health insurance premium increases of 24 percent.

Here are the financial impacts these increases will have on our 2023 budget:

• The burden on Morris Township taxpayers for the proposed premium increase is over three-quarters of a million dollars alone: $794,519
• Our public employees will shoulder the burden of $215,000 in increased healthcare costs
• With pension contribution increases, along with increases to prescription drug premiums, general liability, and workers compensation premiums next year, Morris Township taxpayers are facing over $1,000,000 in costs we didn’t have in 2022