Missouri City Council authorizes manager to negotiate employee health insurance contracts

Missouri City Council on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute contracts with selected carriers for employee medical, dental, vision, life insurance and long-term disability benefits in amounts not to exceed the city’s approved budget allocations.

The action followed a presentation from Shauna Shepherd, the city’s director of human resources, and Julian Fontana, a consultant with HUB International, who reviewed responses to a request for proposals and recommended awarding combined medical and dental coverage to Cigna because its bundled proposal produced the largest projected savings for the city.

The recommendation matters because the city sought to align benefit providers with strategic and financial goals while maintaining service quality and managing premium exposure. Fontana said three carriers submitted competitive medical proposals — Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare — and that Cigna’s combined medical-and-dental package offered the greatest net savings for the city. “Cigna offered credits of $385,000,” Fontana said during the presentation.

Details from the RFP and staff recommendation - Proposals shown to the council put UnitedHealthcare’s proposed annual medical premium at about $8,290,000, Blue Cross Blue Shield at about $6,960,000 and Cigna at about $6,560,000. Fontana said the RFP also solicited implementation, wellness and technology credits; Cigna offered…