Eau Claire council approves new employee health plans, ancillary benefits and clinic contract

The Eau Claire City Council on Sept. 23 approved a package of employee benefit contracts that includes a health insurance contract with Medica, a standalone contract with local clinic Solidaritas and awards for ancillary benefits to Delta (dental and vision) and Mutual of Omaha (short- and long-term disability, voluntary life, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity).

City staff presented the three related agenda items together. The HR director said Group Health was excluded after it proposed a 24% premium increase and deductible changes, and the city selected Medica because its proposed plans “best meet the needs of the employees and the organization.” The HR director said the change will increase the city’s overall medical-related budget by roughly 10 percent, measured against the health-benefits line in the 2026 budget, but that official premiums for employees had not yet been finalized.

Why it matters: The council’s votes set the vendor structure for the city’s benefits program ahead of October open enrollment meetings. Staff said the package adds new voluntary options for employees and preserves lower-deductible plans for those who prefer them.

Key details: City staff said Medica will offer both a traditional plan aligned with the city’s current deductible limits and a qualified high-deductible plan paired with a health savings account. Medica also included a not-to-exceed 15 percent cap for the 2027 renewal, which staff identified as a planning parameter rather than a locked premium. Solidaritas — described in staff materials as a local direct-primary-care clinic that has served city employees since 2020 — will be contracted separately so employees may access lower-cost primary care services.

For ancillary benefits, the city will keep dental and vision with Delta and move most supplemental programs (short- and long-term disability, voluntary life, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity) to Mutual of Omaha. Staff said some ancillary options will be newly available to employee categories that previously lacked them.

Council questions and next steps: Council Member Serrano asked whether the 10 percent budget figure referred to the entire benefits line item; staff confirmed that the estimate reflects the bundled line that includes the Solidaritas contract, Medica contract and city contributions under either plan option and that the estimate used conservative assumptions (the highest-cost plan fully utilized) for budgeting. The HR director said final premium splits for employees will be shared at open-enrollment meetings planned for mid-October, and staff will migrate enrollment to an online platform with individual counseling available.

Roll-call votes: The three items passed unanimously, 7–0. A motion to award the health insurance contract (procurement referenced in staff materials as “procurement number 2020Five-four1, health insurance benefits for city employees”) was moved by Council Member Brewster and seconded by Council Member Mboga. The Solidaritas contract was moved by Council Member Schoen and seconded by Council Member Reid. The ancillary benefits contracts were moved by Council Member Otto and seconded by Council Member Serrano.

City Manager Steve Hirsch thanked HR staff and department heads for the work on the benefit evaluation, calling it a “huge undertaking” that involved multiple departments and staff time.

Ending: Staff will distribute premium figures to employees before or at open-enrollment meetings in mid-October; employees will then make plan selections during open enrollment. The council did not set employee premium shares at the meeting; those figures are pending and will be communicated in staff materials and enrollment sessions.