Lakeway council reviews health-plan renewal; manager authorized to pick option after staff input

City officials reviewed a proposed renewal from the Texas Health Benefits Pool that would reduce the city’s medical rates and add an alternative direct primary care option.

Heather Von Garten, a representative of the Texas Health Benefits Pool, told the City Council the pool’s overall average five‑year rate change is modest and that Lakeway specifically was being offered a 3% decrease under the city’s current dual‑option plan. She described an alternate “Direct Primary Care” (DPC) arrangement through Next Level Prime that would replace the city’s current co‑pay plan for members who enroll in DPC and would, in the pool’s estimate, deepen the premium decrease to roughly 5.27% for that option while the high‑deductible HSA plan would still show an estimated 3% decrease.

“The DPC plan includes $0 office visits with the Next Level provider and a $50 primary‑care co‑pay if members go outside the Next Level clinics,” Von Garten said. She also described ancillary programs that would remain available to participants, including the Lantern (formerly Surgery Plus) network for certain elective procedures.

City staff said they had only just received the renewal materials and planned to solicit feedback from city employees before deciding. Council asked for time to collect employee input and for staff to return a recommendation. Councilmember [unnamed] moved that the mayor and city manager be authorized to determine which plan to select based on staff’s employee feedback; the motion passed unanimously.

What changed and what it would mean: under the pool’s presentation, a city employee who enrolls in Next Level DPC would receive first‑dollar access to primary and urgent care through Next Level clinics (virtual and brick‑and‑mortar), quicker access to primary‑care clinicians, and access to certain programs such as weight‑management coaching and limited behavioral‑health counseling. Services provided outside Next Level would generally be subject to copays or apply to the member’s deductible depending on the service and plan chosen. Von Garten emphasized that Next Level membership fees do not count toward a member’s deductible and that GLP‑1 medications offered in an associated weight‑loss program are member‑paid at a discounted rate.

The council did not pick a plan at the meeting. The manager and mayor were authorized to finalize the contract selection after staff distributes the information to employees and gathers their feedback; council will receive the final recommendation at the regular council meeting, and the item will be added to the consent agenda or returned for action as appropriate.

Quotes and attribution in this article are drawn from the meeting presentation and staff discussion. No final contract was approved at the special meeting.