Commissioners approve Blue Cross contract; insurer outlines 'Flex Access' change for high-deductible plan

The Shawnee County Board on Dec. 1 approved contract C440-2025 with Blue Cross Blue Shield for county employee health coverage, accepting one substantive change to the county’s high-deductible health plan.

Angela Lewis, director of administrative services, presented the contract and said the administrative rates, deductibles and coinsurance remain unchanged. Brent Crinzen of Blue Cross Blue Shield Kansas told commissioners the insurer is replacing the prior 'Accumulator Adjustment' program with 'Flex Access' for the high-deductible plan. He described the change as intended to "bring more awareness to the coupon values that exist for certain pharmacy drugs" and to ensure that manufacturer coupon values are captured and not incorrectly credited toward a member’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum.

"The new program is called Flex Access qualified for the high deductible health plan," Crinzen said. He added the program is intended to preserve a "true out-of-pocket experience" for members and to manage cost and risk for the self-funded county plan.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether Blue Cross is the pharmacy manager for the HSA/high-deductible plan and whether negotiated pricing still applies when coupons are used; Blue Cross confirmed it is the pharmacy solution for the high-deductible plan and said pricing remains contracted. After the discussion the board moved to approve the contract; the motion passed 3–0.

The approved contract will apply to the county’s PPO and high-deductible plan; the Flex Access change will affect pharmacy processing only for the high-deductible plan, per Blue Cross’s explanation.