Pryor Creek committee backs 2025–26 health renewal, seeks final workers'‑comp numbers

A Pryor Creek committee voted to recommend City Council approval of a 2025–26 health insurance renewal that consultants say will result in about a 5% increase in annual employer/employee spend, and discussed but did not finalize a workers'‑comp renewal pending final quotes.

The recommendation followed a presentation from Jennifer Britton, benefits consultant with Brown & Brown, who told the committee the city's group health plan has seen "a 9% decrease in enrollment" compared with last year and that "the loss ratio for the last 12 months combined now is at 91%." Britton said prescription spending on the plan has fallen (about a 27% reduction year over year and a 31% reduction for specialty medications) and that Blue Cross Blue Shield offered a negotiated renewal reduced from an initial 15% increase to 8%, which after a 2% package discount produces an overall 5% increase in annual spend.

Why it matters: The committee was weighing cost pressures on the city's budget against disruptions to employees. Britton and staff said the city's contribution is a defined contribution (a set employer dollar amount), so the 5% premium increase would primarily affect employees unless the council changes the employer contribution. The committee approved the recommendation to forward the plan to council so elected leaders can weigh budget implications before final adoption.

Key details from the presentation

- Enrollment, age and claims: Britton said enrollment is down roughly 9% while the plan's average member age is about 30, which she described as younger than previous years. She said the plan's average out‑of‑pocket share across members is about 15% of paid claim dollars, meaning roughly 85% of claim costs were covered by the plan.

- Renewal math and market comparisons: Blue Cross Blue Shield submitted a negotiated renewal yielding about an 8% premium increase; applying a 2% package discount for medical, dental, life and disability brings the net to about a 5% increase. Other market quotes were higher or noncompetitive: Community Care quoted a 15% increase with narrower benefits; Aetna quoted roughly 31% and UnitedHealth and Cigna declined to quote.

- Plan design changes: Britton highlighted modest design changes effective July 1 on some plans — for example, an out‑of‑pocket maximum on an upper tier plan increasing from $1,250 to $1,500 and modest increases to some office visit copays and higher prescription tiers.

- Insure Oklahoma program: Britton recommended reactivating the state Insure Oklahoma subsidy (previously deactivated), explaining it can pay a substantial portion of premiums for qualifying employees (she described examples where the state would cover about 60% of a qualified employee's premium and up to roughly 85% for qualified spouses, plus a possible $900 annual out‑of‑pocket reimbursement). Reactivation would require reestablishing a city account and would take up to 30 days for state processing.

Workers' compensation update and options

- Current experience and projected premium: Chris (presenter for CompSource) reported the workers'‑comp experience modifier moved to 1.31 from 1.33 (a modest improvement). The current estimated premium was about $219,200; with the lower modifier and current rate trends the renewal was estimated at roughly $215,000–$216,000, subject to final payroll and rate filings.

- Claims activity: CompSource reported seven claims in the most recent year (five medical‑only, two lost‑time). Four older claims were closed at amounts materially lower than reserves (examples cited: a claim open at ~$23,000 closed at $8,200; others closed from ~$20,000 to about $14,000), which reduces next year's modifier exposure.

- Deductible option (per‑claim): The consultant described an optional per‑claim deductible (example: $2,000 per claim) that can yield a premium credit (example used: ~10%). A deductible shifts the first dollars of individual claims to the city but reduces the amount that counts toward the modifier, a longer‑term strategy that staff said can lower premiums over multiple years. The committee asked to see concrete CompSource quotes with and without deductible options before making a final recommendation.

Committee action and next steps

- The committee made and seconded motions to recommend council approval of the city health insurance plan for 2025–26 (the motion passed). The committee also moved and seconded to recommend the workers'‑comp renewal; members said they preferred to wait for CompSource's final numbers and asked that CompSource or staff be available to answer council questions when the matter goes before the full council.

Quotes

- "There's been a 9% decrease in enrollment," Jennifer Britton said, adding that the "loss ratio for the last 12 months combined now is at 91%."

- On the Insure Oklahoma subsidy: Britton said the program is "an amazing program" and described that it can materially offset premiums and out‑of‑pocket costs for qualifying employees and families.

What the committee did not decide

- The committee did not change the city's defined contribution structure (which would alter how much of the 5% increase employers absorb). It also did not finalize whether to adopt a workers'‑comp deductible; members asked staff and CompSource to provide final figures and to be available when the council considers the item.

Taper: Staff committed to deliver CompSource's final workers'‑comp renewal numbers to the city (the presenter said to expect final quotes in early June) and to reactivate Insure Oklahoma paperwork with HR so employees can apply once the account is active.