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Tempe Elementary board awards one-year contracts to Blue Cross Blue Shield, Delta Dental and VSP for employee benefits
Summary
The governing board approved awards March 5 for the district's self-funded medical plan and direct dental and vision contracts, moving from a prior 10-year medical contract to a one-year agreement with up to four renewals and leaving plan design decisions to the insurance committee and trust board.
The Tempe Elementary School District governing board voted March 5, 2025, to award contracts for employee medical, dental and vision benefits to Blue Cross Blue Shield, Delta Dental and VSP.
Miss Bratt, who presented the item, said an RFP committee convened in the fall and solicited bids through Siegel Consulting. “We are recommending the approval to award to Blue Cross Blue Shield for medical, Delta Dental for dental, and VSP for vision benefits,” she told the board.
Bratt said the district remains self-funded for its medical group plan; dental and vision contracts will be direct with set rates that will come to the trust board. She described the new medical contract as a one-year agreement with up to four renewal options, replacing a previous 10-year contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. Shorter terms, she said, will allow the district to renegotiate rate guarantees and benefit coverage more frequently. She also said the district obtained a better stop-loss arrangement in the current procurement.
Board members asked clarifying questions about plan options and costs. Bratt said the insurance committee and the trust board will reconvene in the coming weeks to review plan coverages and set rates and renewals for related products such as the flexible spending account, life insurance and short-term disability.
Bratt also said the district surveyed employees in October and that staff expressed that having a no-cost plan is important; the district is “hoping to continue at least one free” plan and would maintain contributions to employees' health savings accounts for those on that option.
A board member moved and the board approved the contracts by voice vote. The transcript records the vendors and the contract term; it does not record the numerical premiums, detailed plan designs, or the mover/second by name.
