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Council unanimously renews Texas Health Benefits Pool contract after staff review of rates
Summary
After staff and benefits consultant Jeff Clock reviewed renewal options that lower a proposed 20% increase to an estimated 13.26% through plan tweaks, the council voted unanimously to renew the Texas Health Benefits Pool contract for fiscal 2026'27.
The council voted unanimously to renew the city's employee health-insurance contract with the Texas Health Benefits Pool for fiscal year 2026-27 after staff and the city's benefits consultant presented renewal scenarios and answered council questions.
Miss Winburn introduced the renewal and explained the plan options; benefits consultant Jeff Clock said the current 12-month loss ratio is 95% (staff had previously seen a 135% year) and that, based on claims data and market checks, staff and consultants negotiated a plan that reduces the initial 20% renewal to an estimated 13.26% by increasing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums while keeping office-visit copays and prescriptions largely unchanged. Clock described the larger trends (an ~11% medical-cost trend driven in part by pharmaceuticals) and advised the council that the pooled plan historically provided better trend control than many single-employer market options.
Clock described changes for single deductibles (from $750 to $1,000) and family deductibles (from $1,500 to $2,000), with corresponding out-of-pocket increases. Staff also described the city's new flexible-spending and wellness incentives and said some cost-management measures (biometric screenings and targeted programs) are already in place. After brief public-comment and Q&A, a council member moved to renew the contract; the motion carried unanimously.
