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Insurance renewal could rise 20–25%; committee reviews BCO savings estimate and bargaining constraints
Summary
Horton told Ottawa’s Insurance Committee the city’s upcoming insurance renewal could increase 20–25% and that switching to the BCO plan would have produced an estimated 6–10% savings last year; the committee discussed collective bargaining constraints that limit plan design flexibility and scheduled additional meetings before the Sept. 1 deadline.
Horton representatives told the City of Ottawa Insurance Committee on May 11 that the upcoming insurance renewal is expected to rise about 20–25% based on market conditions and claim trends.
The presentation included a comparative estimate that, based on the previous claim year, switching to the BCO plan would have yielded approximately 6–10% in savings for employees and the City compared with the current plan. Horton framed the estimate as a historical performance comparison rather than a guaranteed future outcome.
Benefits Coordinator Haley Roalson reported she had consulted a comparable organization that uses Horton; that organization is self‑insured, operates under nine collective bargaining agreements, and lacks specific plan component language in its contracts—giving it more flexibility to design and price plans than Ottawa’s agreements allow. Haley said the comparable organization had used the same Horton representative for ten years and reported no recent complaints about open enrollment.
Committee members agreed to schedule several additional meetings before the Sept. 1 deadline to finalize recommendations for the City Council. Randy Nelson also requested that Horton provide contact information for the school district that moved to the BCO plan two years ago so committee staff can gather firsthand experience about how the change affected employees.
The committee took no policy vote on plan selection at the May 11 meeting; next steps are follow‑up research, additional meetings, and preparation of a recommendation for Council consideration before the renewal lock date.
