District insurance rep says in-network care drove lower drug and claim costs; board hears renewal is flat

Dee Clay, owner of Mitchell Insurance and presenter for D2E, told the Farmington R-VII School District Board that the district's move to a contracted, tier-one network has meaningfully shifted where care is used and helped control costs.

Clay said year-to-date through March 31, 2026, roughly 74% of the district's medical claims occurred within the BJC tier-one network, with another 5% in a secondary block and a small portion out of network. She said that strategy's effect is visible in prescription spending: the district's annual drug spend per employee fell from about $2,700 in the 2024-25 plan year to approximately $1,310 year-to-date. "We had about 74% of the medical claims occurring inside BJC," Clay said. "That's driving cost savings for the plan and for employees."

Clay also described plan design changes that lowered many non-HSA deductibles to the $1,000'$1,250 range (from amounts as high as $5,000) while keeping renewals flat for the district this cycle. She attributed savings to direct hospital/provider contracts, pharmacy management strategies (including Smith Connect 360 and biosimilar utilization), and steering care to contracted facilities.

Clay noted implementation timing (the plan design began July 1, 2024) and cautioned about lag in claims data. She said the district's reserves currently cover about 30 days of claims and that the renewal negotiated with carriers was flat (0% change), with only IRS-mandated adjustments to some HSA limits.

Board members did not take action on the insurance presentation at the meeting; the presentation was delivered as part of communications.

Direct quotes and numbers above were presented by Dee Clay during the D2E/Mitchell Insurance presentation to the board.