Brooksville council renews Cigna plans with modest savings; delays higher employer contributions

The Brooksville City Council on Aug. 4 voted 4-1 to renew the city's employee medical and dental coverage with Cigna, following a competitive request for proposals and negotiations led by city staff and the Gehring Group.

The move locks in a 2% reduction in medical premiums and a 10% reduction in dental premiums for the coming plan year, officials said. Human Resources Director Kyle Martin and Athena Erchard, senior benefits consultant with the Gehring Group, presented claims trends, plan design details and the RFP process to the council before the vote.

The renewal preserves the city's current partially self-funded structure, Erchard told council. She said the city's most recent rolling 12-month claims (July 2024'June 2025) show a per-employee-per-month cost of about $638, a 3% decrease from the prior year. Medical claims fell while pharmacy costs rose; Erchard said 25% of the city's total spend was from catastrophic claimants (claims exceeding the stop-loss level).

Council also discussed a staff proposal to increase the city's share of premiums for certain dependent tiers: employee-plus-children contribution from 64% to 75% and employee-plus-family from 46% to 50%. After debate about the city's pending budget and timing for open enrollment, the council voted to approve the Cigna renewals but to defer any change to employer contribution percentages until the budget process is further along. City staff said the renewal as approved results in an overall projected budget decrease of about $32,284 based on current enrollment.

Kyle Martin said the renewal preserves continuity of care for employees and allows HR to proceed with open enrollment on schedule. Council members asked detailed questions about pharmacy trends, the plan's tiered prescription design and how expected claims are calculated; staff said administrative fees account for a portion of the plan cost and that generics are dispensed in Florida unless a physician writes "dispense as written."

The motion to approve the renewal while holding changes to employer contribution percentages passed 4-1.

Next steps: HR will open enrollment and finalize employee communications; council and staff said they can revisit employer contribution percentages before the plan's Oct. 1 effective date if the budget process concludes differently.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this report were identified from the meeting transcript and include Athena Erchard (Gehring Group senior benefits consultant), Kyle Martin (Human Resources director), the City Manager (name not specified in the transcript), Mayor Tanner (Mayor), Vice Mayor Bronson (Vice Mayor), Council member McKeithen (Council member), and Council member Hallow (Council member).