McKinney staff recommend keeping Cigna for medical, choose Employers Health PBM and Neely EAP; new plans to start Jan. 2026

At the City of McKinney work session on Sept. 2, 2025, city staff presented results of a multi-line request for proposals for employee health benefits and recommended retaining Cigna for medical and TPA services, selecting Employers Health (a pharmacy-benefit coalition) for PBM services, keeping Cigna for dental, selecting CEC Vision for vision, and choosing Neely Behavioral Health for the employee assistance program (EAP).

Presenter Jim Parrish described the RFP process, noting an employee committee and broker (HUB International) participated in vendor evaluation. Parrish said 22 vendors responded overall. For medical carriers the finalists narrowed to Cigna and Aetna; Cigna scored highest and was the committee’s recommendation. For the PBM, Employers Health — a coalition product that the presenter said manages roughly $54.5 billion in drug spend — scored highest and the staff noted an expected three‑year contract and an estimated $1.5 million in savings on the plan over the contract period, according to the presenter.

Parrish said the city will seek multi‑year rate guarantees where possible: three‑year guarantees for Cigna medical and dental and for the PBM, and five‑year guarantees for vision and the EAP. Parrish described the Neely EAP as offering immediate access to a mental‑health professional at first contact, which staff said addresses employee feedback that many calls are for short‑term conversational support rather than long‑term therapy. Parrish said implementation work would begin immediately if the awards are approved, with employee communications and open enrollment in October and a planned go‑live date of Jan. 2026.

On plan cost, Parrish presented a recent all‑in projection of about $23,000,000 to deliver medical, dental and vision for 2024–25, and he said the city came in at about $21,000,000 last year. He also said the city will shop stop‑loss coverage next month. The presentation included no formal council vote at the work session; Parrish said implementation would begin “if it’s awarded tonight,” indicating the awards would be finalized at the regular meeting rather than by the work session alone.

The transcript includes council praise for the committee work, questions about market response and vendor lists, and an acknowledgement that healthcare costs remain a major budget item. The work session itself records no formal award motion or final contract signatures in the transcript segment provided.