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Council weighs health insurance options as staff urges careful transition planning
Summary
Council members and staff discussed whether to remain with the current Health Advantage plan for one more year while preparing for a possible move to self‑funded coverage; no formal vote was taken and staff outlined timelines for RFPs and transition.
Conway City Council members and city staff discussed employee health insurance options, including the possibility of moving to a self-funded plan in the future, with the mayor recommending staying with the city’s current plan for one more year while preparing a procurement process.
The mayor said the city has received calls from employees who value the current plan and that he wants to delay major change until staff and HR have time to prepare. “I do believe self funding is the way of the future for the city of Conway,” he said, but added he recommended remaining with the existing coverage this plan year and beginning the procurement and planning process early next year.
HR staff and Finance staff provided cost detail during the discussion. One finance staff member said the city’s 2025 budget allocates about $5.8 million for the city’s portion of health and dental, with total premiums (city plus employee) around $7.3 million, meaning roughly $1.5 million of the total is employee-paid premiums. Staff also said Health Advantage offered a 12-month rate guarantee through 2026 in an email referenced during the meeting; HR said that guarantee had been communicated verbally but the written confirmation was requested by council members.
Council members raised several implementation questions: whether the city or insurer could terminate coverage midyear, how to carry over employees’ deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums if a transition occurred, and whether HIPAA and privacy concerns could limit access to necessary claims/eligibility data for a self-insured model. HR staff said insurer termination midyear was not expected and cautioned that cutting coverage midyear would harm employees who may already have met deductibles.
Timelines discussed in the meeting varied. The mayor suggested beginning an RFP process in January and indicated staff should start planning immediately; HR recommended a practical procurement schedule that would return RFPs by July to allow six months for implementation if the council decided to move to self-funding, because transitioning hundreds of employees and retirees is complex.
No formal motion or vote was held on changing insurance at the meeting. Council members expressed general support for exploring self-insurance but a strong desire that "nothing changes, absolutely nothing for our employees" unless coverage and cost-sharing can be matched, including out-of-network, co-pays and devices, one council member said.
