Council approves health, dental, vision and ancillary plan renewals; staff recommends raising specific deductible to $500,000

Brent Weager of Hub International summarized responses to the city’s RFP for medical, dental, vision, health-savings (HSA) and flexible‑spending accounts (FSA), and employee‑assistance program (EAP) services. Weager said the process generated more than 22 responses and that staff recommends renewing medical coverage with Cigna while moving the specific stop‑loss deductible from $200,000 to $500,000 to capture premium savings. He said the recommended move would result in an approximate 6.1% increase to the city’s FY27 health plan funding at the higher deductible level and that it compared favorably to market increases above 14% for similar self‑funded plans.

Councilmembers asked about the city’s large‑claim history and whether GLP‑1 drugs are covered for weight loss. Weager said the city had one claim over $200,000 so far in the current year, three such claims in the prior year, and none in the year before that; he said GLP‑1 medications are covered for diabetes indications but not for weight‑loss indications. Councilmember Echols asked whether the $500,000 deductible applied per individual; Weager confirmed it applied to each covered individual and described aggregate stop‑loss protection set at about 125% of expected claims (the aggregate corridor translates to an aggregate deductible of approximately $16.2 million for the plan). Weager also described negotiated administration terms with no lasers at renewal and renewal caps.

After discussion, the council voted to approve the medical renewal and deductible recommendation and then approved related actions: the HSA/FSA/EAP vendor awards, a voluntary vision carrier change to Blue Cross Blue Shield, and renewal of the dental program with Cigna. Each item was approved by voice vote, recorded 7–0.