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Board adopts 2027 health insurance plan design with percentage-based cost sharing and spousal carve-out
Summary
The board approved a 2027 employee health insurance plan design that shifts premiums to percentage-based cost sharing (Plan 2: 90% district/10% employee; Plan 1: 82%/18%), offers a six-month transitional stipend, implements a spousal carve-out paired with a family savings plan, and indexes out-of-pocket costs to ACA standards beginning in 2028.
The West Bend School District board on July 27 adopted a resolution setting the district's 2027 employee health insurance plan design, including a percentage-based premium cost share, a spousal carve-out tied to a family savings plan, a transitional stipend and future indexing of deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums to Affordable Care Act standards.
Lenny Hansen, assistant to the superintendent, said the recommendations reflect four guiding goals: financial sustainability, compensation leadership, market competitiveness and staff retention. He described the recommended cost shares as a shift to a percentage-based model. "So for plan 2... the recommendation is a 90% district and 10% employee cost share. For plan 1 the recommendation is an 82% district and 18% employee cost share," Hansen said.
Hansen also explained a one-time transitional stipend to mitigate premium increases for employees during the first six months of 2027 and a spousal carve-out that would require spouses who have access to employer-sponsored coverage to enroll in that coverage. Families who leave the district plan under the carve-out would become eligible for the district's family savings plan, which the district would pair with a $100 monthly premium differential per adult (equating to $2,400 per year) and would reimburse out-of-pocket costs. Hansen said the carve-out would not apply when a spouse has no employer-offered coverage.
The board moved and adopted the resolution by voice vote; the transcript records Dr. Tamez as abstaining. Hansen told the board administration and HR will provide education and benefits fairs to help staff make informed enrollment choices during open enrollment.
