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Commissioners approve 2026 health-plan changes: higher premiums, new benefits, elimination of spousal surcharge
Summary
The court approved 2026 employee health plan changes that raise some premium levels, remove a $200 spousal surcharge and add new platforms and benefit design features. County staff said the changes also include a new wellness platform and higher voluntary life guarantee-issue limits.
Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Sept. 16 approved proposed changes to the county's health plans for plan year 2026, including revised premium levels, the elimination of a $200 spousal surcharge and a set of new benefit administration tools.
Human resources staff described the highlights: transition to a standard vendor for life and disability and voluntary benefits (which staff said will lower employee premiums), rollout of a new online beneficiary-designation platform, and a new wellness platform called Navigate provided at no cost to the county. Staff also said they would remove the co-pay for MD Live on the high-deductible health plan and lower co-pays on the PPO telehealth program. The employer will increase guaranteed-issue coverage for voluntary life insurance to $500,000 without evidence of insurability for eligible amounts.
Staff described premium changes for employee-plus-family coverage: the PPO plan contribution shown in the packet rose from $590 to $650 per month for employee-plus-family (a $60 per-month increase); the high-deductible plan figure for employee-plus-family rose from $344 to $409 per month (a $65 per-month increase). HR staff and budget staff also confirmed the premium-holiday granted for the current December remains in place but will not be built into future years under the new rates.
County leaders praised staff for negotiating plan design changes while limiting immediate impacts. Commissioners asked questions about optional additions under consideration, such as covering GLP-1 weight-management drugs; staff said those proposals would require separate PEBC review and a future court vote if adopted.
The court voted unanimously to approve the plan changes and the contribution schedule recommended by HR staff, and staff said they will provide further details and any subcommittee scheduling to finalize designs such as the GLP-1 coverage request.
