Coryell County Commissioners Court on Thursday conducted interviews with three finalists for RFP 25-03, the county's request for proposals for an employee health insurance plan. Representatives from Baylor Scott & White, the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) health pool, and Curative presented plan features, pharmacy arrangements and wellness services during the special meeting; county officials asked about participation, network coverage and enrollment support. No contract award or formal vote was taken at the meeting.

The interviews mattered because the county's choice will affect employee premium costs, out-of-pocket exposure and where residents and county staff can get in-network care. Each presenter emphasized different trade-offs: Baylor Scott & White emphasized continuity (they are the incumbent and proposed a rate pass with pharmacy-tier changes and wellness programs); TAC emphasized pooled purchasing and long-term rate stability through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and Navitus; Curative pitched a more disruptive approach that removes deductibles and co-pays for members who complete an initial onboarding visit.

Jessica Waits, client manager for Baylor Scott & White, told the court the incumbent proposal is a rate pass for the coming year and includes a pharmacy redesign from six to seven tiers that will move many non-preferred generics to a lower-cost tier and reduce specialty drug copays. Waits said Baylor offers a gain-share arrangement to the county''"we will share in the gain. If the group performs better than what we anticipated, any savings we would split with the county 50/50"'and described several wellness programs, including a diabetes management pathway with free supplies, 1-on-1 coaching and medication reviews.

Representatives from the Texas Association of Counties, Clarissa Messenger (employee benefits consultant, East Territory) and Jacob Valadez (senior financial analyst, health and benefits), presented TAC's pooled option, which would place the county in a multi-county pool administered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas for medical claims and Navitus for pharmacy administration. TAC quoted an illustrative rate that was 2.9% higher than the county's current plan but said the pool offers a first-year renewal cap of 9.5% and long-term stability driven by pooled purchasing (TAC said its seven-year average renewal has been about 4.5%). TAC staff described a suite of member tools (OASIS eligibility/billing, Blue Access for Members portal), a designated TAC wellness consultant for on-site education and an eligibility/billing platform to support enrollment and ACA reporting.

Felipe Cantu, vice president of sales for Curative, described a different model: members unlock a $0-deductible, $0-copay benefit by completing a baseline onboarding visit within the first 120 days of coverage. "Our plan offers a $0 deductible, $0 co pay," Cantu said, adding that the benefit is active for members who complete the onboarding and that Curative uses a combination of the First Health network, direct Curative contracts and a "Curative Cash Card" for providers outside its contracted network. Cantu said Curative currently covers about 125,000 members and that most new members (about 98% of their groups) complete the baseline visit. Curative also offered a one-time transition premium credit of $30,000 to the county if the county selects Curative.

Commissioners and county staff asked each presenter follow-up questions about enrollment mechanics, member engagement and access to local providers. County officials repeatedly raised local access concerns, asking whether Coryell Memorial Hospital and local physicians would appear in proposed networks; presenters said local provider participation varies by vendor and that staff would confirm specific provider participation before any contract signature. TAC and Baylor described in-person or departmental open-enrollment support; Curative said it offers on-site enrollment, recorded sessions and virtual onboarding and that it provides weekly compliance reports showing which members have completed the baseline visit.

The meeting included discussion of pharmacy arrangements: Baylor noted a move to a seven-tier formulary and the county's current pharmacy administrator change to Capital Rx (which Baylor said provides transparent NAIDAC pricing). TAC emphasized its Navitus pass-through PBM contract and its custom formulary design; Curative said it operates its own closed-door pharmacy with next-day delivery and that 97% of members find needed drugs in Curative's formulary at $0 or low copays.

No decision was announced. The presentations were part of a procured schedule of vendor interviews under RFP 25-03; county staff and commissioners said they would review the proposals and supporting materials before making any selection. County staff member Randy McFarland was identified in the meeting as a contact who provided materials to the commissioners and coordinated the schedule.

The court recessed and reconvened between presentations to accommodate vendor travel and timing; commissioners closed the special meeting after the third presentation with the matter left for further review and evaluation.