Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Brighton staff recommend largely preserving benefits while raising city share for 2026
Loading...
Summary
Consultants recommended staying with existing carriers for medical, negotiated reductions for life/disability, moving EAP to CuraLink, and a projected 4.9% increase to city costs for medical with no added employee cost; dental increases would raise employee contributions modestly.
City HR and benefits consultants presented the city's 2026 benefits recommendations at the Oct. 14 study session. Kelsey Heller of Hub International summarized 2025 performance and nationwide cost trends, noting an 8.5% medical trend largely driven by higher behavioral-health utilization and specialty drugs. Heller said Brighton's care-management strategies have moderated claims compared with peers.
Hub recommended staying with UMR for the city's medical plan with no plan design changes; staff estimated a 4.9% increase in city costs for 2026 with employee contributions unchanged. For dental, staff recommended a 5% increase in city costs paired with a roughly 9.5% percent change to employee contributions by tier. The consultants also recommended moving the employee assistance program to CuraLink and retaining Lincoln for life and disability, with negotiated rate improvements.
Kevin Young, director of human resources, confirmed an open-enrollment period beginning in November and said staff would return to council with final rates and enrollment details. Council members asked about the process for arriving at recommendations; staff described a multi-month internal process with consultant input, finance review and city-manager oversight.
No formal vote occurred; staff will present final plan language and rates during the open-enrollment and budget process.
