City benefits consultant Tyler presented the city’s annual employee-benefits renewal and recommended renewing the medical plans with Regence BlueShield of Idaho after a market solicitation. Tyler said the city’s two medical plan designs — a traditional plan and a high-deductible HSA plan — showed an average renewal increase of about 1.3 percent.
Tyler said Regence’s renewal was modest compared with other carriers and that switching carriers would cause administrative friction; he noted SelectHealth returned to the local market with a competitively priced bid but Regence still offered the best overall combination of price and continuity.
Tyler described a design change to the high-deductible plan tied to IRS rules: the deductible rose from $3,200 to $3,600 and the out-of-pocket maximum rose from $6,100 to $6,900. He said coinsurance improved (from 70/30 to 80/20) so some costs shift in a way that could be beneficial to employees who have moderate claims.
On dental and vision insurance, Tyler said Equitable proposed a large renewal increase (about 30 percent) and recommended exploring Principal (which offers an annual renewal cap) and MetLife (which quoted near-current rates and offers a two-year rate guarantee). Tyler explained tradeoffs: Principal caps future increases but is pricier now; MetLife is close to current pricing but may increase later. He asked the council to decide which strategy it prefers and requested guidance by about the 15th of the month to allow open-enrollment preparation.
Council members asked for a one-page summary comparing current vs. renewal costs across plans and asked staff to include combined-plan totals for clarity. No vote was taken; council signaled preference to keep the current medical carrier but asked for a decision and employee-materials update ahead of open enrollment.