Kendall County renews health plan, will absorb higher premiums for employees

BOERNE, Texas — The Kendall County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to renew the county’s group health plan with the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) health benefits pool for the Oct. 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026 plan year and to have the county absorb the premium increases rather than pass them on to employees.

Human resources staff reported a 7.2% increase in medical premiums and a 9% increase in the dental plan for the coming plan year; vision and basic group life rates did not change. The increases reflect the pool’s experience of higher claims. County staff said being in a TAC pool likely spared the county from larger premium increases.

County staff told the court they had budgeted roughly $350,000 in the draft FY2026 budget to cover the overall increase in employee benefits, including medical and dental; a narrower figure — $274,238.96 — was cited as the amount needed if the county opts to absorb the employee-dependent coverage increase (the staff presented the latter number as the incremental cost to continue covering employees at current benefit levels without shifting additional dependent costs to employees). Commissioners voted 5-0 to renew the TAC plan and to absorb the increased cost for employees.

Staff noted programs to reduce future claims costs — including wellness events, preventive-care promotion and incentivized screenings — and said some incentive programs and education can reduce pool costs over time. They also said TAC offers points/credits for higher employee engagement that can return funds to member counties.

What’s next: Human resources will finalize open-enrollment logistics and vendor paperwork and return with any required enrollment authorizations. Staff said open-enrollment meetings and wellness offerings will be scheduled ahead of the plan-year start.

Speakers quoted in this article participated in the health-plan discussion at the June 10 meeting.