Prince George schools told TLC renewal could mean a 23.4% health‑insurance spike; consultant outlines tradeoffs to reduce cost

Crystal Kaminski of the Pierce Group told the Prince George County School Board on Thursday that the district faces an unusually large health‑plan renewal. "For this upcoming plan renewal, it's about a 23.4% increase," Kaminski said, attributing much of the spike to specialty pharmacy and higher utilization.

The Pierce Group presentation traced the district—s recent renewals (7.8% in 2023, then 3.6% and 2.6%) and said the latest underwriting from the Virginia Local Choice (TLC) pooled program produced the steep projected increase. Kaminski cautioned that the 23.4% figure came from TLC—s final underwriting rather than Pierce—s initial placeholder estimate, and that market testing found most carriers either declined to quote or submitted noncompetitive bids.

Why it matters: the finance presentation later translated Pierce—s figures into budgetary impact: if the district absorbs the full renewal with no plan changes, staff said the net employer cost would rise by about $2,045,760 and total annual employer premium would be roughly $10,133,322. That is the principal driver of the shortfall the board discussed for the FY27 operating budget.

What the district can do: Kaminski said TLC is a pooled state plan and some design choices are made at the plan level, but the district can still use levers that affect its local cost exposure. She outlined changes already made by TLC (for example, removing GLP‑1 drugs for weight‑loss coverage and adding an RX deductible and specialty‑drug coinsurance) and showed two district options. One option would leave plan designs intact and absorb the full increase; an alternative would raise the Key Advantage deductible from $500 to $1,000 and cut the district HSA contribution roughly in half, which Kaminski said would trim the district—s added cost to about $1,519,509 annually.

Board members pressed Pierce Group on apparent inconsistencies between a prior 11% placeholder used for budgeting and the later 23.4% renewal. Kaminski said the earlier figure was a budget placeholder based on historical trends and available data at that time; she emphasized the final percentage is set by TLC—s underwriting of the pool and a district—s utilization, and that specialty pharmacy trends—particularly costly brand and specialty drugs—have driven unusually high increases across many public employers.

Exit fee, market constraints and deadline: Pierce estimated a possible adverse‑experience adjustment (an exit fee) for leaving the pool in the ballpark of $1.16 million, noting that the exact amount depends on claims experience and is set by TLC at exit. The broker also said many carriers are unwilling to accept groups in the current market or have returned quotes that would be far above TLC. Kaminski reminded the board TCL decisions are time‑sensitive: changes must be finalized by April 1.

What—s next: board members asked staff to model the budget impacts of the plan options and to return with recommendations quickly so the district can meet April deadlines and resolve the FY27 shortfall. The finance presentation later incorporated Pierce—s numbers into the operating budget discussion.