Keene Council approves new employee health plan; broker highlights Curative, TML pool and tradeoffs

Keene — The City Council voted unanimously to adopt a package of employee benefits that replaces the city’s current UnitedHealthcare program with a Curative triple-option plan using an EPO as the city’s base contribution, and to move dental, vision and disability plans to Mutual of Omaha. The council also approved ancillary benefits including a short- and long-term disability structure, a Teladoc-style “new benefits” virtual care line, and optional MASA ambulance gap coverage.

Why it matters: The benefit changes are projected to reduce the city’s near-term employer health-care costs while also altering employee out-of-pocket exposure and member experience. Brokers and staff told the council the options would either keep costs flat with UnitedHealthcare or produce notable savings: about $103,000 annually if the city moved to the Texas Health Benefits Pool (TML) and about an 11% blended reduction versus current costs; Curative produced a smaller but still meaningful reduction and offered different member-facing features.

Hub International broker Rodney Dryden reviewed three vendor pathways for the council: renew with UnitedHealthcare at a negotiated 0% increase; move to TML (Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO network) with an estimated 11.9% reduction (roughly $103,000 on current enrollments); or adopt Curative, a three‑year‑old nationwide product that pairs network access with a member “intake” model that can waive deductibles once members complete a baseline call. Dryden said the firm negotiated the renewal down from a near‑10% proposed increase to flat with UnitedHealthcare and summarized each option’s tradeoffs.

Dryden described Curative to the council as a member‑experience centric plan that “waives the deductible and the out of pocket” for members who complete an intake call and that offers a point‑of‑service cash card for nominated out‑of‑network providers. He said Curative quoted a $25,000 transition credit and that, for the EPO baseline, the city’s net cost would fall roughly 7% compared with current costs after factoring the credit. Dryden also cautioned about known pain points for TML, particularly changes in prescription administration under its Navitus drug program and approvals for imaging and other procedures.

Council and staff questions focused on continuity of primary care, pharmacy co‑pays, member disruption during a carrier transition and how Curative’s nomination/cash‑card process works for longstanding out‑of‑network providers. A city employee who spoke during the meeting said deductibles sometimes cause financial hardship and welcomed options that reduce employee out‑of‑pocket risk.

Council actions: Councilman Ralph Forsa (mover) and Councilman Chuck Easley (second) put forward a single motion to implement the Curative triple‑option plan using the EPO as the city’s baseline (city contribution), to select Mutual of Omaha for dental, vision and life/disability lines as quoted, to add the MASA air/ground ambulance gap coverage at the recommended city cost, and to approve the Teladoc/new‑benefits telemedicine service. The motion passed unanimously. (The meeting record reports the motion and unanimous approval; a numerical roll‑call was not recorded in the transcript.)

What the change means for employees: Curative’s model requires an annual intake call for adults and older dependents; employees who complete it can have deductibles and out‑of‑pocket costs waived for covered services, the broker said. If employees skip the call they face higher deductibles (Dryden described a $5,000 deductible for non‑completers in some plan designs). Curative also offers a mechanism to nominate a doctor for approval and to issue a cash card to cover approved services at point of care.

Next steps: Staff and the broker told the council the new plan would take effect Oct. 1 and that the city’s HR team would manage the administrative transition, employee communications and enrollment. Dryden and staff said they would provide a claims‑level transition file and work to minimize disruption for employees with recent medical activity.

Ending: Council members praised the comparison review and emphasized the city’s desire to keep costs manageable while protecting employees from large out‑of‑pocket charges. The council’s action now directs staff to implement the adopted benefit package and complete the transition work with the broker and carriers.