EBENSBURG Over employee protests, Cambria Countys two Republican commissioners approved a $100,000-a-year agreement with a health-care consulting company that says it can assure a $300,000 savings next year in health-care costs.

Thomas Chernisky, the Democratic minority commissioner on the three-member board, cast a dissenting vote after his motion failed to table the agreement until other proposals could be heard and reviewed by the countys health-care committee.

Protesting the agreement were members of the health-care committee made up of 18 union employees and Brian Beppler, the countys human resources director. The committee has saved the county millions of dollars in health-care coverage over several years while doing the same job at no cost as the consultant would do, Patricia Moore, a member, said.

The agreement, which is effective Nov. 1, is with Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The parent company, which merged with the former Gleason Agency of Johnstown last year, was retained as Cambrias insurance broker last year, also by the same 2-1 vote.

Christopher Gleason Jr., Gallagher area vice president, said that the anticipated increase in cost in the countys health-care coverage is expected to go up as much as 13.5 percent, although Beppler said it might be 8 percent.

Cambria is a self-insured county and has a plan through UPMC. Its health-care cost this year is about $11 million.

President Commissioner Douglas Lengenfelder said Cambria will end up with a $200,000 net savings after paying Gallagher the $100,000 fee in the first year. If Gallagher fails to deliver on the savings, there will be reductions in its fee.

Moore, an assistant public defender, disputed whether the memorandum of understanding with Gallagher does provide the outs that Lengenfelder described.

The committee has saved Cambria $4.27 million in health-care costs since 2007, she said. Between 2009 and 2011, the savings have been

$1 million a year as the committee explored options and looked at employee incentives to cut costs, she said.

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Despite protests, county hires health-care consultant