Brentwood staff recommend keeping employee premiums flat while switching stop‑loss vendor

Chair opened the meeting’s consent items and presented a detailed review of the city’s health insurance package, saying the city operates a partially self‑insured plan administered for medical claims by Blue Cross Blue Shield and that prescription benefits are handled separately by MedBin. “It’s a great health plan,” the Chair said, and invited staff to answer questions.

The Chair and staff explained how the city blends specific and aggregate stop‑loss insurance: the current specific attachment point is $85,000 per enrollee, with an aggregate component and a hybrid add‑on of about $150,000 to protect against unusually large cumulative claims. Staff said the targeted stop‑loss structure limits the city’s cash‑flow exposure and that the aggregate attachment point is lower than last year, meaning the plan would reach insurance coverage sooner in the event of high claims.

Staff presented fund balances and projections: the city’s health fund balance was described at roughly $3.5–$3.6 million this year and projected to about $3.0 million next year, driven by an estimated uptick in claims. The Chair characterized the balances as healthy but flagged the need to monitor claims trends across the year. “We’re paying pretty close attention to it,” the Chair said.

The Chair described the city’s Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) that reduces employee out‑of‑pocket exposure. Using the example offered in the packet, an individual deductible of $5,000 would leave an employee responsible for the first $500 while the HRA covers the next $4,500; beyond that the city plan pays the majority of costs. Staff framed the HRA as a recruitment and retention benefit that materially lowers an employee’s effective deductible.

On pharmacy administration, the Chair presented consent item 3: renewal of MedBin to administer prescription benefits (excluding the highest‑cost specialty drugs). The packet figure cited an annual administration cost of about $26,400 (approximate phrasing in the presentation); staff reported positive experience with MedBin’s proactive outreach and specialty‑drug help center.

On stop‑loss procurement, staff recommended a resolution (consent item 4) to accept a Barton Insurance Group proposal after soliciting multiple firm quotes. The Chair said Barton’s package would reduce total stop‑loss cost by about 10.5% versus the incumbent and noted that one competitor (Symmetra) submitted an updated firm quote that was about 1.5% higher than originally shown in a comparison chart, which changed the relative ranking. Staff also explained the concept of “laser” underwriting — targeting certain costly individual claims in negotiation — and said such adjustments affect only the city’s cost side, not employee coverage.

The packet included a statement that staff are not recommending any change to employee premium tiers for the coming year — employee‑only, employee‑plus‑spouse, employee‑plus‑children and family tiers would remain at current premium contributions. The Chair said historic plan adjustments and consultant work had helped keep the city’s per‑employee monthly cost growth below broader market averages.

The presentation closed with an inventory of the consent items tied to the benefits package (MedBin renewal, stop‑loss resolution) and a reminder that contract terms and detailed quotes were included in the meeting packet. No formal roll call vote or final action was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.

Next steps: staff said they would finalize firm quotes and route any resolution or contract renewals through the required consent and contracting process.