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Higginbotham pitches turnkey broker/TPA model, cites pharmacy savings
Summary
Higginbotham told trustees it can offer a single-vendor solution that combines brokerage, TPA-like services and pharmacy management; the presenter cited client examples of immediate pharmacy savings and emphasized monthly forecasting and implementation teams.
Gilbert Gonzales of Higginbotham Public Sector told the WESLACO ISD board his firm provides a turnkey brokerage and implementation service that includes dedicated benefits consultants, customer-service teams, enrollment technology and pharmacy specialists.
Gonzales said Higginbotham’s pharmacy unit has delivered immediate savings in some client cases — “Immediately, 30%,” he said — and added that the firm typically achieves double-digit savings in the first year in examples the firm provided to boards elsewhere. He described hands-on implementation: biweekly meetings during rollout, actuaries and clinical staff to identify high-cost claimants, and contractual rate guarantees when possible.
Trustees asked whether a single large broker would dampen local agents’ leverage and what protections the district would get in contract language. Gonzales said his team would spreadsheet every category, present top options in each benefit category and continue active negotiation even after a selection is made. Trustees did not make a procurement decision; they asked staff to bring both broker and TPA options forward for the April amendment and May workshop.
