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Committee awards stop‑loss contract to Cigna and raises attachment point to $600,000
Summary
At its Aug. 28 meeting the Rutherford County Benefits and Insurance Committee voted to award the county's medical stop‑loss contract to Cigna and to raise the attachment point from $500,000 to $600,000, a change the committee's adviser said should reduce premium while adding per‑claim exposure.
The Rutherford County Benefits and Insurance Committee voted Aug. 28 to award the county's 2026 medical stop‑loss contract to Cigna and to raise the stop‑loss attachment point from $500,000 to $600,000.
Committee advisers from Gallagher recommended the change after an annual stop‑loss review; Gallagher's presenter, identified in the meeting as Miss Smith, said the firm's modeling and a Monte Carlo analysis supported the move and that Cigna's renewal quote was at its contractual cap. "We're pleased to recommend that Cigna be awarded the contract for the 2026 year," Miss Smith said. "For that reason, we're recommending that you accept the bid submitted by Cigna at a $600,000 attachment point."
The committee heard that raising the attachment point shifts an additional $100,000 of exposure to the county for any large claim that exceeds the prior $500,000 limit, but that the county could see a reduction in annual premium. A committee member, Lois Miller, summarized the tradeoff, saying the $600,000 level "comes in at the same amount of premium as we were paying last year for $500,000" and that the change would create about $300,000 in premium savings, leaving the county more exposed on each qualifying claim.
Molly Howell, who presented other benefits reports to the committee earlier in the meeting and confirmed staff discussion with Gallagher, said staff supported Gallagher's recommendation.
After a motion and second, the committee conducted a roll call and the motion passed. Named members recorded as voting yes included Commissioner Boyd; Amber Brown; Mike Curtis; Brian Gaither; Melissa Griffey; Lois Miller; Commissioner McAdoo; Commissioner Phillips; Jennifer Schmidt; Michael Smith; Steve Spence; and Eric Tutto Bene.
Committee members and staff were explicit that the recommendation is based on statistical projections and that actual claims experience may differ from modeled outcomes. The change will take effect with the county's 2026 stop‑loss contract with Cigna.
