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County projects modest health‑plan premium rise; open enrollment set for August
Summary
Travis County HRMD presented a benefits update showing a projected 2% health plan premium increase for FY26, examples of employee premium impacts and the county’s open‑enrollment timeline; HRMD said any changes must be approved by Commissioners Court.
Travis County benefits staff told the Commissioners Court they expect only a modest increase to county health‑plan premiums for fiscal year 2026 while urging the court to approve any final rate changes during the upcoming budget process.
Sephita Venters, the county’s benefits administrator, said actuarial projections for FY26 show a roughly 2% increase to health‑plan premiums if plan designs remain the same. Venters presented examples showing the monthly impact on employees under different salary and coverage scenarios: she said an employee on the PPO plan covering self and children would see about a $5 per month increase in the example presented, and that most employees would see increases in the $1–$10 per month range under the scenarios shown.
Venters also said 13.8% of employees would see no increase to their premiums in the modeling and that about 77% of employees would see increases between $1 and $10 per month in the example. HRMD used a hypothetical $10 monthly premium increase alongside a hypothetical 3% across‑the‑board compensation increase for illustration and emphasized that most employees would still see a net monthly pay increase under that scenario.
Timeline and next steps: Venters said the court’s formal vote on benefits changes and rates is scheduled for June 24 and that the county’s open‑enrollment period will run from August 1 through August 31, with any plan changes becoming effective October 1.
Context from HRMD compensation remarks: Todd Osborne reviewed recent pay steps the court has taken — including raises to the county minimum wage and multiple across‑the‑board adjustments — and reminded the court that HRMD’s compensation and pay‑scale recommendations must be approved by the Commissioners Court before they take effect.
What the court did: no rate or plan design votes were taken at the public comment hearing; Venters said the benefits vote is scheduled for the June 24 meeting (staff presentation occurred during the same public hearing).
