Sam Irby, a consultant with Innovative Solutions and the districtonsultant on employee benefits, told the Fluvanna County school board the districtaces continued upward pressure on health‑insurance costs and outlined options as the plan approaches renewal.

Irby described the district
s self‑funded with a per‑member stop‑loss attachment around $125,000 and explained the practical difference between fully insured and self‑funded arrangements. "With self funding, you, the client, say, we want to pay the first $100,000 of every member's claim," he said, adding that self‑funding shifts some near‑term risk to the employer while reinsurance covers extreme claims.

Irby said rate increases are driven by medical trend and utilization and gave a general projection: "Trend lately for the last number of years has been running between 8–10%." He described the district
s participating in the Jefferson Health consortium, which provides level funding that smooths cash‑flow for large claims, and identified Centerra Health Plan as the district
dministrator and Express Scripts as the PBM.

Board members pressed Irby on why Fluvanna
ppears to pay more than neighboring divisions. "I'll pull a study together for you on that," Irby said, committing to provide a comparison of plan design and premiums. He also addressed common levers for reducing cost: stronger outreach to reduce unnecessary ER visits, encouraging appropriate plan choice, targeted disease‑management coaching, and careful PBM oversight. On wellness initiatives he cautioned that light touch walking or gym programs often have limited impact unless they reach a large portion of the covered population; conversely, Irby said, coaching and preventive care can lower claims.

Irby said a renewal proposal from Jefferson Health should be available next week and offered to return to the board for a detailed briefing. "We always negotiate renewals," he said. "If we think we can save 10%, then we definitely want to bid." The presentation prompted follow‑up requests from trustees for apples‑to‑apples comparisons, historical claim buckets and the effect of plan design on employee out‑of‑pocket costs.

The board did not take a formal vote on plan design at the meeting; staff will bring renewal numbers to upcoming budget work sessions.