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Parish HR reports 9.5% insurance renewal after carrier proposed 29.9%; committee told $87,900 needed from general fund
Summary
St. Tammany Parish human resources and administration presented a negotiated 9.5% renewal for employee health insurance after an initial 29.9% proposal; staff said plan changes and a requested $87,900 from the general fund will cover the increase for 581 enrolled employees.
Cheryl, director of human resources for St. Tammany Parish, told the finance committee that the parish negotiated a 9.5% overall increase to employee health insurance premiums after an initial renewal proposal of 29.9% from the carrier broker.
Cheryl said the parish works with broker Gallagher and markets the plan each year; the renewal process begins in January and benefits become effective May 1. "When we got to January, February and they looked at the initial renewal, it came in at 29.9%... When we finished going through the negotiation profit process, we renewed at 9 and a half percent," Cheryl said.
Annie, finance staff, explained enrollment and usage numbers the committee requested: 581 employees are enrolled across two plans, the co-pay plan and a high-deductible plan. In the co-pay plan, 45 people met the deductible and 24 reached the maximum out-of-pocket; 18 people met the deductible on the high-deductible plan. Annie said those high claims contributed to renewal pressure.
Annie described the parish's reported loss-run ratio and how it shaped negotiations. "What's normal in the market is around 75%." When a committee member questioned the parish's loss ratio, the same presenter stated in the record that the parish's loss ratio was 22% during the presentation and a committee member later referenced the figure as "122" in the discussion. The committee did not resolve that discrepancy during the meeting.
To lower projected cost growth, staff proposed plan design changes for the 2025–26 plan year. Annie said the co-pay plan deductible will be raised to $1,500 for individuals and $3,000 for families (up from $500 individual / $1,500 family), with higher copays for specialists and some emergency-room visits. The high-deductible plan deductibles were raised marginally to $5,000 individual and $10,000 family.
Annie said the net additional request to the general fund to cover the negotiated premium increase is $87,900. When asked about the parish's general-fund balance, Annie said the budgeted fund balance on the books is in the "70-something thousand dollars" range for this year but added that, based on closing work on last year, "there's probably a million dollars there." The finance committee did not take a formal vote on the funding request during this meeting.
Chief Administrative Officer Gina Hayes and other members thanked Cheryl and staff for negotiating with Gallagher. "I just wanted to commend Cheryl, Annie, and Chief Administrative Officer Gina Hayes, who worked with Gallagher," a committee member said.
Staff said they will follow up on several outstanding technical questions raised during the discussion, including the order of primary/secondary coverage for employees eligible for Medicare and clarifying the loss-run figure recorded in the presentation.
The committee discussion covered only the renewal, plan-design changes, and the requested general-fund contribution; no formal adoption of plan changes or fund transfers occurred at this meeting.
