Council selects Option 3 for medical coverage; keeps Kansas City Dental and chosen vision network

Llano City Council voted to adopt a medical-plan option for planning purposes and approved recommended vendors for dental and vision coverage for the 2025–26 plan year. After presentations from brokers Dina and Javier, council members discussed utilization, out-of-pocket exposures, network access for rural employees and the trade-offs between lower premiums and higher deductibles.

Brokers reported that, eight months into the current plan year, carriers had recorded an average of one employee deductible incurred per month and that roughly half of those had reached maximum out-of-pocket protections. The brokers also highlighted a dental-maximum-rollover feature on the current plan that qualifies 30 employees to receive accumulated rollover credits next year, and they explained key design differences between quoted dental and vision carriers.

Javier walked council through comparative dollar impacts across four medical options: the renewal of the current plan (about a $23,000 increase to the city's bill as presented), and lower-cost alternatives (Option 3 presented at about $7,000 additional cost and Option 4 at about $2,000 additional cost). Council discussion focused on preserving low deductibles for employees while controlling budget impacts. Several councilmembers said they preferred to keep the in-network deductible lower even if out-of-pocket maximums rose modestly.

Councilmember motion and second resulted in a vote to adopt Option 3 (the broker-recommended compromise that retains the current deductible levels while increasing the city's premium moderately). Council also voted to remain with Kansas City Dental for dental coverage and to continue with the recommended vision carrier; motions carried.

Brokers and staff noted additional follow-up: confirming provider participation in networks for rural-area employees, evaluating whether voluntary life conversions by employees would become more expensive if the city drops existing employer-paid life coverage, and clarifying whether long-term disability (LTD) should move to Hartford while keeping life insurance with the current carrier. Staff will return with details on conversion impacts and any administrative steps required.