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Budget committee reviews town health and dental plans with HealthTrust; no benefit cuts proposed
Summary
Committee members and a HealthTrust representative reviewed town health and dental coverage, discussed alternatives for lowering costs while preserving coverage, and agreed to prepare recommendations for the Select Board and budget committee; no benefits were cut at the meeting.
Brentwood's Municipal Budget Committee and members of a subteam reported Aug. 18 on a recent meeting with HealthTrust to review the town's health and dental insurance offerings and possible cost-saving changes.
Budget committee members Michelle and another committee member said they met HealthTrust representative Andrew on Aug. 6 to review plan design, rates and potential alternatives intended to reduce town costs while keeping comprehensive coverage for employees. "There's no intent to ever cut medical or dental insurance at all. No. Never," one committee member said, emphasizing the committee's stated goal was to redesign options to be more cost-effective rather than reduce benefits.
What was reviewed: The committee's summary showed the town currently offers a zero-deductible (platinum) plan and a $1,000-deductible (gold) plan. The presenters said the town pays 100% of single coverage for one plan and covers a portion of family coverage; the committee summarized per-employee annual and monthly costs in its slides.
Numbers cited. Presenters said the town's employer cost for health insurance is roughly $600,000 for about 27 employees. If an employee declines town coverage, the town currently pays $1,300 per year as an in-lieu payment, a figure cited repeatedly in the discussion.
Dental and plan options. The committee reviewed two dental plan options and heard HealthTrust's assessment that Brentwood's dual-dental offering increases rates. The presenter said HealthTrust suggested changing to a single dental plan (option 1C) would lower the single-person monthly dental premium from about $54 to roughly $49 in their example.
Public-sector trends and next steps. The HealthTrust representative advised the committee that the zero-deductible platinum plans have become costly and that many employers have shifted toward higher-deductible plans with employer contributions to HSAs or other accounts. Committee members discussed options that could include a high-deductible plan plus town contributions to an HSA or a town-funded partial deductible contribution. The presenter said HealthTrust's 2026 rates will be available Oct. 7 and that the town administrator should receive the detailed rate packet a few days after that.
Committee's approach and limitations. Committee members said they will prepare recommendations for the Select Board, which controls the employee handbook and plan offerings, while the budget committee controls the appropriation lines. The subteam emphasized they do not want to force employees to change providers or networks; presenters said they will avoid plan changes that require employees to replace primary-care physicians.
Meeting outcome: No plan changes were adopted. The subteam agreed to run scenarios showing cost and coverage tradeoffs and to present those recommendations to the Select Board and the full budget committee. HealthTrust offered to attend future meetings to explain plan options to committee members and to staff.
