Ocean County is set to drop the State Health Benefits Plan (SHBP) for all of its eligible active and retired employees, effective January 1, 2027, TLS has learned.

The resolution would end the county’s participation in both the SHBP Medical Plan and Prescription Drug Plan, “thereby cancelling coverage provided by the SHBP for all its eligible active and retired employees.”

In the resolution, the commissioners say the SHBP “has experienced extraordinary rate increases over the last few years,” and that the State of New Jersey “has shown no willingness to assist in controlling the continually increased costs,” leaving “counties and municipalities throughout the State being left with difficult budgetary choices.”

Staying in the state plan, the resolution says, leaves the county “subject to externally established health and prescription benefit rates, with little ability to independently control or mitigate these costs on behalf of taxpayers and employees.”

The resolution does not name a replacement plan or say how much the county expects to save.

Under the resolution, the county will notify active and retired employees of the date their SHBP coverage ends. The state Division of Pensions & Benefits will notify retirees, and COBRA participants will be told to contact the county about “a possible alternative health and prescription plan.”

The increases have hit local governments hard. According to the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, the State Health Benefits Commission approved a 36.25% increase for local government employers for 2026, on top of 16.4% in 2025. For 2027, the commission approved an average increase of 17.3% for local government workers, according to the New Jersey Monitor.

Ocean County would not be the first to go. The League of Municipalities says 560 local government entities remained in the SHBP as of March 2026, down from about 700 four years earlier.