Dearborn Heights hears seven benefits consultants; council presses on fees, Ebix and union input

Dearborn Heights City Council convened a study session on Nov. 18 to hear seven employee‑benefits consulting firms competing to serve the city. Presenters described cost‑control strategies, technology options for benefit administration and ongoing account service; council members pressed repeatedly about price, the city—s Ebix benefit platform and how changes would affect union contracts and retirees.

Gallagher, represented by Chad Hodkinson and Jeff Nielsen, emphasized market leverage and a Michigan public‑sector practice and said its team had achieved substantial pharmacy and stop‑loss savings for other clients. "We were able to help them drive about 20% cost avoidance on their pharmacy program," Hodkinson said while walking council through a case study. Nielsen clarified Gallagher—s core proposal: a direct fee of $69,700 in the first year, with an additional $25,000 tied to the city—s Ebix platform that Gallagher could either bill the city to operate or seek to replace by migrating the city to an alternate platform.

Other firms made similar pitches. TMR Agency and Manquin Vance framed themselves as municipal specialists with hands‑on teams and retention‑focused service models. Kaepernick‑style teams and Allied Insurance emphasized analytics, pharmacy carve‑outs and group purchasing approaches. Several vendors proposed migrating the city from Ebix to Employee Navigator or a comparable platform to reduce or eliminate what the room described as a roughly $25,000 annual platform cost, while Plant Moran, the incumbent advisor, urged careful transition planning and highlighted its role managing ACA reporting and benefits administration for the city and retirees.

Jonathan Triomphe of Plant Moran told the council that his firm pays for the city—s benefit‑admin platform today and that the company will lower its invoiced fee dollar‑for‑dollar if the city eliminates that expense. "If we don't have to pay for that platform anymore, we will absolutely reduce our fee dollar for dollar, and we will put that in writing," Triomphe said, emphasizing continuity and compliance risk management for retirees.

Union leaders and the city—s chief counsel urged caution. The chief counsel told the council that "change simply for the sake of change can be catastrophic" to retirees and employees and asked that unions be given the materials presented to council so they can review the offers before any decision. Several presenters said they regularly engage with collective bargaining units and can integrate bargaining‑unit needs into plan design.

No final decision was made. Council members said the presentations were intended to inform a later formal vote when the item appears on a subsequent agenda; staff will return a recommendation and the council will consider shortlist and contracting options in public session. The study session included detailed back‑and‑forth on fee composition (direct fee vs. commissions), platform ownership and what evidence would be required to show savings for both the city and employees.