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Indianola council, IMU trustees approve health‑plan renewal recommendations and three premium holidays
Summary
At a March 17 joint meeting, council members and IMU trustees approved Holmes Murphy’s package of health plan renewals and policy recommendations: raise the single deductible to $3,400, set a recommended family deductible of $6,400, keep specific stop‑loss at $100,000, adopt a $25 telehealth copay and authorize three premium holidays to draw down reserves.
At a joint City Council and IMU Board of Trustees meeting on March 17, 2026, the council and trustees voted to memorialize a slate of recommendations from broker Holmes Murphy for the city’s employee health plan, including modest deductible increases, retention of existing stop‑loss levels and measures to draw down an unusually large reserve.
Holmes Murphy broker Joe Stopulus told the meeting the plan’s current total net claims are about $873,000 this year, up from roughly $665,000 last year. “That gives us our total net claims, which in this current year is at $873,000,” Stopulus said while walking members through a new financial snapshot. He attributed the year‑over‑year increase to escalations in both medical and pharmacy claims and explained how pharmacy rebate credits from certain PBM arrangements offset some fixed fees.
The council and trustees approved a set of recommendations developed by Holmes Murphy and staff. Key items the body endorsed include: moving the single embedded deductible to the IRS‑required $3,400 level; a recommended family deductible of $6,400 (to move family coverage closer to the traditional 2x single deductible); retaining the specific stop‑loss attachment at $100,000 and the aggregate at 125%; setting a $25 copay for telehealth visits under HSA‑eligible plans; and keeping employee contribution percentages and medical accruals flat for FY27. Stopulus said Walmart’s PEPM rebate credit — recently increased to $110 for some groups — helped reduce net fixed costs in the renewal proposal.
Council and staff also focused on the health fund reserve. The city currently holds roughly $2 million in reserves; staff presented models showing FY27 gross cost scenarios ranging from about $1.675 million to $1.836 million depending on assumptions. Council members and staff debated reserve‑policy philosophies — a six‑month target vs. a risk‑based approach tied to exposure — and agreed to use targeted premium holidays to reduce the reserve. Staff noted one premium holiday reduces the reserve by roughly $138,000; council consensus favored three premium holidays bunched in November, December and January to accelerate drawdown while keeping employee premium rates unchanged.
On telehealth, Stopulus recommended a modest $25 copay to encourage use without exposing the plan to undue cost: “I think $25 is a prudent level to have it where it won't have overuse, but it'll encourage people to use it,” he said. For an infrequently used transplant travel benefit tied to Blue Distinction Centers, staff recommended updating contract language to match market terms rather than removing the benefit entirely.
After discussion, a motion was made to memorialize the slate of Holmes Murphy recommendations and recorded by roll call for both the city council and the IMU Board of Trustees. Staff recorded the action for the record; one member (Smith) was noted as absent. Staff will reflect the approved changes in plan documents and budget development for FY27 and return any implementation items (for example, final insurer numbers and the schedule for premium holidays) to the council and board as needed.
The meeting then moved to a separate agenda item on utility credit‑card processing fees.
