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EPISD highlights expanded wellness benefits and seeks cost controls as specialty drug costs rise
Summary
District staff detailed EPISD’s self-funded health plan features — expanded mental-health counseling, $1,000 HSA contributions, wellness incentives and about 6,300 employees enrolled — and said the district is evaluating premium trends, specialty drug drivers and pharmacy rebates to sustain the plan.
El Paso ISD’s finance committee reviewed the district’s self-funded healthcare program April 14, hearing staff describe expanded wellness and employee-assistance offerings, plan enrollment and steps to sustain benefits amid rising specialty drug costs.
Miss Cortez and Mr. Juan Chavez, who oversees employee benefits, described features of EPISD’s plan with Sigma and said the district has expanded employee assistance from three no-cost counseling sessions to eight and now offers up to 11 mental-health counseling sessions to employees. Staff also highlighted wellness incentives (up to $1,000 for preventive care), a $1,000 annual health-savings contribution the district has maintained, and a wellness program that staff said is unique in the city and state.
Staff reported roughly 3,900 employees on the consumer-driven health plan and about 2,400 on a traditional plan (about 6,300 total). Presenters said the district held employee contributions steady from 2023–25 and made gradual adjustments in 2026 while using cash infusions to support plan sustainability. Staff noted cost drivers including specialty drug treatments (cancer, gene therapies), and high utilization of diabetes medications.
Trustees asked for more granularity. Several requested a disaggregated breakdown showing district contributions by plan tier (employee-only, employee-plus, family), and asked whether Express Scripts (mail-order pharmacy) savings accrue to employees as well as the district. A Hub International consultant, Liz Bbo, told trustees that different employers use different funding strategies and that the county has historically contributed more on family tiers than EPISD. Trustees pressed for a plan to reduce employee costs for the employee-plus-family tier and asked for utilization data comparing mental-health access across plan types.
Staff committed to provide the requested disaggregated contribution figures and utilization data and said supplemental no-cost mental-health services are available in addition to plan-covered benefits. The district said it plans to increase employee outreach and use mail-order pharmacy options where appropriate to capture rebates and reduce overall cost.
What’s next: staff will return with a disaggregated contribution breakdown and utilization figures, and will recommend plan design or outreach adjustments as part of broader budget work.
