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District JIC recommends plan changes to lower 2026–27 health‑insurance renewal increase
Summary
Benefits staff and the JIC co‑chairs recommended dropping three current plans and replacing them with higher‑deductible options to cut a projected 13.5% premium spike down to about 9.8%, shifting some costs to plan participants while preserving district‑paid life and dental for full‑time staff.
Thompson School District R-2J benefits staff and the district’s Joint Insurance Committee (JIC) presented a preliminary recommendation to the board to reduce the district’s anticipated health‑insurance premium spike for the 2026–27 plan year.
Dorothy Barnhard, the district’s director of benefits and risk management, told the board the committee recommends discontinuing the district’s three current plans and adopting replacement options (described at the meeting as PPO Select 2, PPO6 and a Kaiser 2500 plan). The replacements increase plan deductibles and, on the PPO6 option, raise certain office‑visit copays by a small amount. Barnhard said the package would reduce the renewal the district would otherwise face: the committee estimates it brings the projected premium increase down from roughly 13.5% to about 9.8%.
Barnhard said the proposed changes reduce the district’s net exposure by about $1.92 million in added cost compared with the higher 13.5% projection; she described the overall change as the result of a tradeoff between plan design and participant cost sharing. "We are recommending the JIC vote to discontinue the three current plans … and introduce the PPO Select 2, PPO6 and Kaiser 2500 plans," Barnhard said during the presentation.
The committee proposed keeping a hospital‑reimbursement plan in place for members already enrolled and continuing district‑paid life and dental coverage for full‑time employees in line with board policy and negotiated agreements. Staff also proposed allowing employees to apply the Select 2 premium contribution to buy up to the PPO6 or Kaiser options for themselves or dependent coverage.
JIC co‑chairs Robert Jones (a longtime teacher representative) and Andy Stevens (a district administrator) described the committee’s multi‑hour discussions and community input, and board members pressed staff for additional details on deductible increases and how the district will communicate changes to employees before open enrollment. Staff said deductibles generally increase about $500 per tier for the select plans (for example, Select tier‑one individual deductibles move from $1,500 to $2,000) and that the PPO6 single‑plan deductible would increase to about $3,000; they also said copays on some plans would change by about $5 per visit.
Committee members said the district’s relationship with a self‑funding pool (CBT) and the availability of an on‑site primary‑care clinic staffed by Marathon Health influenced the committee’s assessment of options and potential employee use of primary‑care services. Board members asked staff to return at the March 25 board meeting with any additional questions and formal action requests required for open‑enrollment timelines.
The board did not take a final vote at the March 11 meeting; staff said they expect to ask the board for action at the March 25 meeting and to provide clearer cost tables and employee communication materials ahead of open enrollment.
