Arlington ISD trustees workshop reviews three paths to rein in rising employee health costs

Arlington ISD trustees on Nov. 6 held a workshop on employee health benefits to review claim trends, premium pressures and three broad policy options staff and consultants said could slow rising costs.

Superintendent Dr. Smith opened the session and introduced presenters Scott Kale and Holly Stanbaugh, who led trustees through table exercises and data showing the district faces a funding gap between premiums collected and paid claims. "For 2024–25, we collected about $37,000,000 and had about $45,000,000 in paid claims," Stanbaugh said, adding, "Our loss ratio for 2024–25 was a 122%." She warned that continuing year-over-year increases would make the district's benefits program harder to sustain without changes.

The workshop focused on three options staff presented as the district's primary paths forward. Option 1 is to remain in TRS ActiveCare, which presenters said offers coverage stability and employee familiarity but is likely to produce continued annual increases of roughly 10–15% if current trends persist. "The good news is it's safe. The bad news is it comes with cost," consultant Scott Kale said.

Option 2 would keep the district in TRS ActiveCare but introduce stronger wellness incentives and participation requirements to shift behavior and reduce claims. Stanbaugh noted the district already offers a $51 monthly wellness credit for employees who reach gold status but said roughly half of employees do not currently participate in the wellness program.

Option 3 is to leave TRS ActiveCare and adopt a self-funded or tiered plan that would give Arlington ISD greater control over plan design, co-pays and premiums but expose the district to more financial risk, including stop‑loss protection premiums and a potential 'risk stabilization fee' legislators have imposed on districts that opt back into TRS early. Stanbaugh cited examples of stabilization fees ranging "about 10 to 20%" and said some districts have passed such costs to employees.

Trustee table exercises and reports produced concrete ideas and concerns. Suggested interventions included campus competitions, fitness bands, standing desks, on-site or mobile screening clinics, smoking-cessation programs and simplified wellness apps to boost participation. Trustees also raised practical concerns about changing networks or doctors and prescription coverage implications if the district moves away from TRS ActiveCare.

Staff also reported steering-committee survey results showing about 47% of respondents favored leaving TRS ActiveCare to gain capacity and control, roughly 33–38% preferred staying while enhancing wellness, and about 15% favored maintaining the status quo.

Stanbaugh said family coverage can be costly for some employees (she cited family premiums as high as about $1,800 per month) and explained that a small number of very large individual claimants can drive much of the district's expenses; she gave a recent example of a single high claimant totaling about $1,400,000.

Kale cautioned that there is "no right answer" and that each option has trade-offs. He said a consortium of neighboring districts is possible but would reduce Arlington ISD's individual control and likely would not match the buying scale of TRS ActiveCare.

Staff told trustees they will analyze the workshop feedback and return with an administrative recommendation ahead of a decision expected in December (the transcript references "end of the year" but did not provide a specific deadline). The meeting recessed to a closed session at 6:00 p.m.

The workshop provided trustees with quantifiable claims data, stakeholder survey results and a set of staff‑and-consultant trade-offs that will inform the board's decision this winter.