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Council approves shift to EveryHealth model and clinic partnership to contain rising medical costs
Summary
After an RFP and broker review, council approved moving the city's medical plan to EveryHealth and authorized a Next Level Prime cooperative agreement for on-site/no‑cost care; the broker said EveryHealth offered substantially lower renewal rates and an integrated clinic model to reduce high-cost claims.
Human Resources and the city's benefits broker (HUB) presented the results of an RFP for employee medical coverage. Broker Brett Bowers said the city’s prior plan with Blue Cross had produced a high loss ratio and that EveryHealth’s model yielded a materially lower renewal price. He told council, “Last year, we did get an increase from Blue, Blue Cross Blue Shield of 27%... the EveryHealth negotiated number was... 8.31% overall compared to what we could negotiate with Blue Cross,” and explained tradeoffs including different network coverage and higher maximum out‑of‑pocket for some services.
Council also approved joining a cooperative purchasing agreement with Harris County Department of Education to enable purchasing flexibility and authorized a partnership with Next Level Prime, a local clinic network, so covered employees can access primary and urgent care with no out‑of‑pocket cost; the city manager said the clinic visits paid through the contract will not be run through the insurance claims feed, reducing pressure on future renewals. The bundled motion (medical plan change + ancillary renewals + Next Level Prime agreement) passed unanimously.
