The County Commissioners Court approved an agreement with Hub International to implement a new benefits administration and online enrollment system, voting unanimously at the Aug. 26 meeting.

Anna, a county staff member leading the benefits discussion, told the court the switch to a new system was prompted by recent third‑party administrator changes for the county's benefits: the county is moving to Cigna for benefits administration and to The Standard for life and disability. Because the county is leaving UnitedHealthcare’s platforms, its previous online enrollment system (WorkTerra) no longer fits the county’s vendor configuration. Anna said Hub’s enrollment system was demoed with heavy users from the auditor’s office and found to meet the county’s needs.

Anna presented the cost structure: a one‑time implementation fee of $10,000 and a per‑employee monthly enrollment fee of $3.75. She said that, when applied to the county’s enrolled user set (including retiree plans), the total contract value is about $79,000. "That cost is going to be covered by tech credits that are included in our new agreements with Cigna and The Standard," Anna said.

Anna also explained procurement compliance: Hub is available through a Qualys group cooperative contract (an interlocal arrangement), and purchasing and legal will review the agreement as part of standard procedures. Staff said the Hub contract is an addition to services Hub already provides to the county and that there should be no net cost to the county general fund because of the available tech credits.

A commissioner confirmed that the arrangement incurs no direct budgetary cost because the tech credits cover the Hub implementation and ongoing fees; Anna confirmed that was correct. The court then voted to approve the agreement with Hub International.

The court’s approval included standard direction to purchasing and legal to complete review and to proceed with implementation in time for this year’s open enrollment. Staff said they expect to have the system implemented for open enrollment and will coordinate with departments, including the auditor’s office, which will be a major administrative user.

No public commenters spoke on this item during the meeting; the court’s action concluded the item.