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Prior Creek council chooses 'premium saver' insurance option to limit city cost increases
Summary
After a presentation from broker Brown and Brown, the Prior Creek City Council voted unanimously to adopt a 'premium saver' health-insurance package (option one) that pairs a higher-deductible Blue Cross plan with a supplemental policy to contain the city's renewal costs while limiting employee out-of-pocket exposure to major claims.
Jennifer Britain of broker Brown and Brown told the council that a broad market review and negotiations reduced an initial renewal surge to a modestly smaller increase and produced several plan options for the city's roughly 1,000-member benefits pool. The packet showed a roughly $73,000 difference on the 'status-quo' package and a range of alternatives that trade lower city premium change for higher member deductibles or copays.
Britain said the broker negotiated the initial Blue Cross renewal down to about a 9.8% figure and presented 'premium saver' variants that pair a high-deductible Blue Cross plan with a supplemental insurer that buys down catastrophic exposure. She described an option that would put a $6,100 deductible on the primary Blue Cross plan while the supplemental 'premium saver' policy would lower members' effective maximum hospital-related exposure to $500 or $1,000. Britain noted routine office-visit copays would rise modestly (about $5 per visit in some options) but that the premium-saver combination reduces worst-case out-of-pocket hospital costs for employees with high claims.
Hannah, the city clerk, said open enrollment could begin next week and that benefits under the chosen renewal would take effect July 1. Britain also explained broker compensation: instead of a typical commission, the city has a transparent $12 per-employee-per-month broker fee. She said Brown and Brown will provide employee education sessions to explain card usage and the two-card process that accompanies the premium-saver design.
After discussion of trade-offs and department-head input that modest copay increases would be manageable for staff, Council member Bradshaw moved — and a council member seconded — a motion recommending adoption of Premium saver option one (the $500 buy-down variant). The motion passed unanimously on roll-call vote.
The next steps: staff will incorporate the chosen option into open-enrollment materials, schedule employee education sessions led by the broker, and finalize plan documents and enrollment logistics ahead of the July 1 effective date.
