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Sebring council approves health-insurance committee plan including 10.8% cost adjustment
Summary
The City Council approved health-insurance committee recommendations to accept a Cigna renewal and to cover a projected 10.8% fixed-cost increase to the plan; the committee recommended employers and employees share adjustments, and staff said employer funding would add about $61,419 to the city budget.
Sebring — The City Council on Tuesday approved recommendations from its health-insurance committee that accept a Cigna administrative-services renewal and address an estimated 10.8% increase in fixed plan costs that will take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
The committee recommended increasing the employer contribution to cover the full 10.8% fixed-cost rise and raising employee rates by the same percentage; it also recommended a roughly 16% increase for dental coverage and a change to outpatient mental‑health/substance‑use co-pays from $75 to $40.
Chief Carl Hoagland, representing city employees, urged council members to consider the human impact of shifting costs to staff. "This 10.8% increase has a name and a face for every employee that's affected," he said, explaining that for some employees the increase would consume a substantial portion of recent cost-of-living adjustments.
City staff reported the plan is already operating at a loss and presented cost-sharing options. Committee members said fully funding the additional cost would add roughly $61,419 to the city’s employer contribution; staff also described split‑cost scenarios and the option for employees to move to a base plan to avoid premium increases for individual coverage.
After public comment and discussion, a councilmember moved to approve the insurance committee’s recommendations as presented; the motion passed on roll call.
Next steps: Staff will implement rate changes effective Jan. 1, 2026, and will report actuarial results as required for the city’s self-insured plan.
