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Select Board votes to keep town on MVP plans; town to cover 90% of platinum premium
Summary
The Richmond Select Board voted to adopt MVP plan renewals for 2026, with the town paying 90% of the platinum premium and employees paying 10%. Acure advised the board that recent Vermont policy changes and lower insurer requests produced modest rate increases for the town.
Gail Leond of benefits advisor Acure presented the Select Board with a comparison of carrier rate requests and plan designs for 2026, and urged the town to remain with MVP. She said state actions such as House Bill 266 and lower insurer rate requests have eased some upward pressure on rates.
"We are constantly looking at this for you, for the town, for the employees to try to mitigate where we can," Gail Leond said during her presentation of national, state and local trends and the town's projected plan renewals.
Leond reviewed specific drivers behind prior large increases, including high‑cost infusion drugs and the recent growth in prescriptions for GLP‑1 drugs. She showed the board that Richmond's MVP platinum renewal averaged approximately a 1.09% increase, while a comparable Blue Cross Blue Shield renewal would have raised the town's cost far more.
After questions from board members about plan tiers and employee contributions, Select Board member David moved to "offer the MVP platinum plan with 90% of the premiums paid by the town and 10% of the premiums paid by the employee and to also offer the MVP gold three and silver two high deductible health care plans with the town paying 100% of the deductible and contributing to a health savings account in an amount equal to the difference between 90% of the platinum premium and 100% of the premium gold three or silver 2." Jay seconded the motion.
The motion carried on a recorded voice vote. The board thanked Gail and staff for the presentation and noted the modest year‑over‑year increase would help contain near‑term budget pressure.
The Select Board directed staff to reflect the MVP plan selection and the 90%/10% cost‑sharing in the FY27 draft budget materials and to provide final contract documents for the board files.
