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District consultant recommends 14.9% premium-equivalent increase for FY26 health benefits
Summary
RUSD benefits staff and consultant recommended raising the premium-equivalent rate 14.9% for FY26 to address rising medical and pharmacy claims; employees would see modest monthly increases under the district's contribution bands and the board will vote at the upcoming business meeting.
Adrienne MacMillany, chief human resources officer for Racine Unified School District, introduced a benefits presentation Wednesday that recommended a 14.9 percent increase to the district’s premium-equivalent health rates for fiscal year 2026.
MacMillany said the recommendation comes from the district’s consultant, Brown & Brown, and reflects above-budget medical and drug claims in recent years and a smaller, sicker enrolled population. "Brown & Brown is recommending that we increase our premium equivalent by 14.9 percent," she said. "Since FY23 our medical and drug plan costs have exceeded what we have budgeted for." (Adrienne MacMillany, Chief Human Resources Officer.)
Consultant Monica Petz described the actuarial approach: the recommendation draws on 24 months of medical and pharmacy claims, trend projections, a stop‑loss (reinsurance) arrangement that protects the district from very large claims, and demographic changes in the covered population. Petz said reinsurance premium changes and higher-cost claimants influenced the proposed adjustment.
Under the proposal, employees would see modest monthly increases that vary by pay band and family status. For employees in the $85,000-or-less pay band, the single plan increase was shown as $4.21 per month and the family plan increase as $10.42 per month in the presentation; higher pay bands would see slightly larger dollar increases. MacMillany said those employee amounts occur within an employee contribution cap framework (3 percent and 4 percent caps), meaning the district would absorb the remaining share of the premium-equivalent increase.
The presentation listed several cost-mitigation strategies already in place or under consideration: spousal-coordination rules, use of biosimilars for certain medications, a prescription coupon program, a physical-therapy recontracting with ATI, and vendor programs for maternity and behavioral health services. MacMillany said the district is discontinuing a Maven maternity program because of low utilization and cost per participant.
Board members asked follow-up questions. Mister Zloor asked how much of negotiated wage increases will be absorbed by higher health premiums for staff; the consultant said the recommendation is driven by claims experience, demographics and trend projections. Mister O'Connell asked whether the district still participates in the clinic arrangement with Ascension on Northwestern; staff confirmed and said the district shares clinic costs with the city and county under an existing utilization-based agreement.
No formal vote was taken; the board will vote on the benefits rates at the next business meeting in mid-June.
