Council approves trustee appointments and hears presentation on West Michigan public-sector health insurance pool

Council considered joining or moving into the West Michigan public-sector health insurance pool (presentation by Gallagher consultant Mike Haggerty) and approved a resolution naming the City Manager as trustee and the Deputy City Manager as alternate trustee for the pool.

Mike Haggerty of Gallagher presented the pool’s history and services, saying the pool began in 2005 and has grown to include many public-sector groups including municipalities and school districts. He described shared governance (each member organization with a board seat), administrative support and benefit programs offered free to members, including diabetes-management programming and telehealth services. Haggerty said the pool’s purchasing power and risk-sharing model historically produced lower premium trend performance compared with single-employer renewals.

Haggerty’s analysis compared the city’s existing Blue Cross options and census to pool plan options and estimated that the city could avoid higher market trends; staff said moving the city’s renewal from a Feb. 1 to a Jan. 1 cycle would be an administrative change offered by the pool.

Council adopted a resolution to designate the City Manager and Deputy City Manager as trustee and alternate trustee for the insurance pool oversight and governance. The council’s motion to appoint the trustees passed by voice vote.

No policy changes to employee contributions or specific plan changes were recorded in the meeting; staff and the consultant said the intent is to preserve employee cost levels while moving to the pool and to finalize plan- and contract-level details through staff negotiations and the pool’s onboarding process.

Council asked for the resolution so the city could pursue the formal steps required by the pool, which the presenter said requires a board resolution and a three-year commitment to join the pool.