Cameron County commissioners move to change health insurer, officials say budget savings significant

Cameron County commissioners said the county will drop its current health plan administrator, Divot, and enroll in a different consortium as part of preparations for open enrollment.

The decision, announced during routine reports, was presented as a cost-saving measure that preserves current plan coverage for employees while easing budget pressure. "We decided to drop Divot and we will be enrolling with another consortium," the presiding commissioner said during the meeting.

County officials told colleagues the switch should prevent a rate increase for staff during the coming open enrollment. One commissioner framed the change in budgetary terms: "The actual savings is anywhere from 7 to 9% from what our costs on health insurance were last year. And that's a $420,000 expense at the county levels," the commissioner said, stressing the potential fiscal significance for the upcoming budget.

Officials said the new plan will offer the same benefits to employees and that staff and county rates should remain unchanged for the immediate open-enrollment period. They also said the county was following neighboring counties that have made similar changes.

No formal procurement details, vendor names beyond Divot, or an effective date for the new contract were recorded in the transcript. Commissioners said staff had notified Divot of the decision and that additional enrollment details will be finalized as open enrollment approaches.

The meeting did not include a recorded, roll-call vote on the insurer change in the transcript; commissioners discussed the change during routine reports. Next procedural steps noted were finalizing plan paperwork and confirming enrollment mechanics before open enrollment.