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Benefit consultant reports $26.25M in 2025 claims, warns district health costs remain high
Summary
A consultant told the committee gross medical and pharmacy claims for 2025 totaled about $26.25 million, with net claims near $22 million after reimbursements and rebates; the consultant said trend and high‑cost drugs are driving ongoing increases and described the district’s contributions to hold down employee premiums.
A benefits consultant told the Lafourche Parish School Board Business Committee that employee and retiree health‑plan costs for 2025 remain substantial and trending upward despite efforts to control spending.
Buddy Late of Galier Benefit Services presented the year‑end analysis and said gross medical and pharmacy claims for 2025 were $26,254,000. He reported roughly $1.8 million in reinsurance and other reimbursements and about $2.3 million in drug rebates and subsidies, producing net claims of approximately $22 million for the year. Late said fixed administrative and reinsurance costs were about $1.6 million and that the monthly average of claim payments was about $2.1 million. He described an overall trend increase of roughly 12.74% for the period presented.
Late told committee members that enrollment figures included a little over 1,500 people on the district’s Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana network and about 1,000 covered under Humana plans, and he said the district currently contributes a large share of plan costs. According to the presentation, the district funds several million dollars per month toward plan costs and provided additional one‑time funding (discussed in the presentation as roughly $7.3 million) to keep premiums from rising; the consultant emphasized those numbers when describing the district’s budgetary exposure.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about how the district’s contribution percentages change when extra budget support is applied and expressed concern about recruitment pressures: one member pointed out neighboring parishes with lower employee premiums can make recruiting harder for the district. The consultant noted high‑cost biologic drugs and certain chronic conditions are key drivers of claims and highlighted benefit designs and pharmacy strategies (including a payer matrix and rebates negotiations) that have produced savings in some areas.
Late said there were no simple short‑term fixes for the long‑term upward pressure on medical costs and recommended continued monitoring, negotiation, and targeted cost‑management programs. He said staff would return with first‑quarter updates for 2026.
