Fulton County commissioners renewed Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield as the administrator of employee health plans through 2027 but signaled they may seek a new provider sooner than planned.
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted at a special called meeting Wednesday, Sept. 30 to extend the Anthem contract for one year, covering self-insured medical and pharmacy benefits for active employees and retirees. The renewal runs Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2027, and exercises the second of four available renewal options under the existing contract. Two options remain.
Commissioners had separated the Anthem portion from a broader employee benefits renewal approved at the Sept. 16 regular meeting, which covered MetLife, Superior Vision and Kaiser Permanente. That earlier vote explicitly excluded Anthem.
At the Wednesday, Sept. 30 meeting, District 3 Commissioner Dana Barrett moved to approve the renewal "as recommended by the Finance Department under duress" and to bid a new request for proposals for a benefits provider in 2027 rather than waiting until 2029. Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington Jr. seconded. No vote was taken on that motion.
District 2 Commissioner Bob Ellis offered a substitute motion to approve the renewal and proceed with an RFP that had been outlined. Arrington added a friendly amendment directing County Manager Dick Anderson to report back to the board on whether to pursue a broader RFP. Vice Chair Khadijah Abdur-Rahman seconded the substitute motion, and it passed.
The board also approved 2027 premium rates for Anthem medical and pharmacy plans in a separate vote.
Barrett's "under duress" language and the decision to carve Anthem out of the Sept. 16 vote point to commissioner concerns with the current arrangement, though the minutes do not detail the reasons. The contract's dollar value was not disclosed in the meeting record. The scope of the potential RFP is also unclear from the minutes alone.
For Johns Creek residents employed by Fulton County, the practical effect is continuity: Anthem will remain the health plan administrator through at least 2027. The board's directive to Anderson could accelerate a competitive bidding process, but no timeline was set for when he must report back.
