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San Benito commission selects Curative for city medical plan, Mutual of Omaha for bundled benefits
Summary
After a detailed presentation of 2025–26 proposals, the San Benito City Commission voted to set Curative as the recommended medical carrier and to bundle several voluntary and employer-paid benefit lines with Mutual of Omaha; one commissioner abstained.
The San Benito City Commission voted to set Curative as the recommended medical carrier for the city’s 2025–26 employee benefits plan and to consolidate several life, disability and ancillary products with Mutual of Omaha.
Staff presented bid comparisons from Curative, Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare and reviewed dental, vision, life, disability and voluntary products. ‘‘Curative is offering zero copays and zero deductibles for members who complete a baseline visit within 120 days of coverage,’’ enrollment coordinator Laura Devon of Valley Res Consulting said during the presentation.
City staff recommended Curative for medical, Mutual of Omaha for basic life and several voluntary products (short- and long-term disability, supplemental life, accident, hospital indemnity and critical illness), Aflac for dental and vision, and leaving some whole/universal life and cancer products with Colonial Life. Staff also recommended increasing the employer-paid basic life benefit from $20,000 to $50,000 to take advantage of projected savings from other plan changes.
During discussion, staff clarified plan mechanics: Curative’s baseline visit is a 10–15 minute virtual intake that unlocks the plan’s full in-network cost-sharing; if members do not complete the visit within 120 days, coverage defaults to higher cost-sharing. City staff said Curative quoted an employee-only rate of about $476 per month, with a $40,000 transition credit that would reduce the effective employee-only cost to roughly $461 for the first year.
The commission approved the staff recommendation. One commissioner abstained, citing a potential conflict of interest on the record. Commissioners authorized staff to finalize agent-of-record paperwork and begin open enrollment and implementation steps with the selected carriers.
City staff said they expect to begin enrollment activities the same week and will provide employees benefit guides and one-on-one enrollment sessions in English and Spanish. Staff also noted they will track baseline-visit completion and assist employees who lack the necessary technology.
The vote directed staff to bring any final contract documents back for administrative completion and to prepare a mid-year budget amendment if needed to align city appropriations with chosen plans.
