Alief ISD board approves 2026 health-plan design and premium changes to reduce projected deficit

The Alief Independent School District Board of Trustees approved changes to the district’s medical plan designs and employee premium rates for plan year 2026 after district staff said the health plan was running well above prior projections.
The motion to approve the plan design and premium changes was moved by Trustee Janice Spurlock, seconded by Trustee Rick Moreno, and passed on a show-of-hands vote the president recorded as 7 in favor, 4 against, 0 abstentions in the minutes (the board recorded the final tally as "74, 0 against, and 0 abstention" in the transcript). The motion language approved the medical health plan premiums, parameters and plan structure for plan year 2026 as presented by administration.
Katina Gordon, director of risk management, and consultants from Alliant reviewed plan performance and drivers. Gordon said the district transitioned from a narrower network (Aetna/Kelsey Seybold or Memorial Hermann EPOs) to Blue Cross Blue Shield, which broadened network access but produced unexpected utilization shifts to higher-cost providers, notably Methodist hospital locations in Fort Bend County. Gordon said the district’s actual per-employee-per-month cost trended from $964 (Feb. 2024 baseline) to about $1,068 (Jan–May 2025), producing a projected $11.35 million deficit for 2025 if no changes were made.
Administrators recommended plan design changes (higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums on EPO and essentials plans and adding a fourth high-cost prescription tier) and targeted employee premium increases. Gordon said the plan design changes would reduce the projected budget need by about $3.28 million; recommended employee premium increases would cover an additional roughly $2.27 million, for a combined reduction of about $5.54 million to the projected deficit.
District leaders emphasized benefits retained for employees: continued nationwide access through Blue Cross Blue Shield for dependents (useful for students at out-of-area colleges), an on-site employee health clinic with no co-pay, and ReadyMD virtual care at no cost. Gordon said the district would also offer a limited open-enrollment life insurance opportunity through Unum that would allow employees up to $300,000 in coverage without evidence of insurability during open enrollment, plus up to $50,000 for spouses.
Trustees asked about long-term options and next steps. Trustees and administrators discussed the small but costly participation in the EPO option (8.6% of employees) that has higher utilization and claims; administrators said eliminating the EPO could lower premium collections without substantially lowering claims because those enrollees already paid higher premiums. Administrators also said they would continue vendor oversight, review stop-loss proposals, monitor employee behavior (provider choice) and provide campus outreach during open enrollment.
The board’s vote approved the administration’s recommended plan design and premium changes for plan year 2026; administrators will implement the changes in time for the open-enrollment period for the 2026 plan year.