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Board approves employee benefits renewal, district moves medical plan to UMR/UnitedHealthcare
Summary
The board approved a renewal of employee benefits that shifts medical and some benefits to carriers associated with UMR/UnitedHealthcare and OptumRx for pharmacy; the district cited a roughly 17% medical cost increase (down from a prior 27% renewal) and said employees will see an 8% contribution increase, while one no‑cost plan will remain available.
At the meeting the Board of Education approved the district’s employee benefits renewal, moving medical, dental and voluntary benefit administration to carriers tied to UMR/UnitedHealthcare and changing pharmacy coverage to OptumRx.
“Overall cost for the medical insurance is about 17%,” Miss Spangler, the staff presenter, told the board, saying that an earlier renewal estimate had been 27% and that shopping the plan produced a more viable option. She said the district will continue to offer two plan designs (a high‑deductible HSA option and a copay plan), that one plan option will remain available at no cost to employees, and that the district will pass an 8% premium increase on to employees. The district also plans to set aside or transfer fund balance to its health insurance fund to cover potential high claims.
Miss Spangler said a benefit of the new arrangement is an expanded provider network; the new medical network will extend beyond Colorado, which she said will help employees with dependents living or studying out of state. Pharmacy administration will move from CVS to OptumRx; dental and voluntary benefits will move to UMR/UnitedHealthcare with minimal changes to benefits.
Board members asked about stop‑loss terms and cost‑management strategies for prescriptions; staff said education for employees and plan design choices remain tools to manage claims costs. After discussion the board voted to approve the insurance renewal motion on a roll call vote.
