[0:08] [clears throat]
[0:11] » Good morning everyone.
I'd like to
[0:14] call this special called meeting
to order September the 8th, 2026 at 8:00
[0:19] a.m.
We do have a certification of a quorum.
[0:24] We do not have public comments at this
time.
[0:27] And um
we are just going to go in to item
[0:31] number four.
Consideration of and action on
[0:37] resolution R-2026-48
authorizing renewal of employee health
[0:42] plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Texas
[0:45] for fiscal year 2027 and authorizing the
city manager or their designee to
[0:50] execute all relevant documents.
>> Yep. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you all
[0:55] again for coming
for this special called meeting. It was
[0:58] important because
if we are to implement item number two,
[1:02] we need time to do that before the plan
expires at the end of the or before the
[1:07] plan kicks in October 1. And so that is
why you're here. In front of you is
[1:11] resolution R-2026-48.
That resolution simply sets the ceiling
[1:17] for how high we can go on health
insurance. Uh
[1:21] the worst case scenario that we found on
this health insurance is 57% renewal. I
[1:26] will tell you that your fiscal uh
proposed budget cannot support that. Uh
[1:31] the the top of the
the threshold for
[1:35] uh the plan redesign
with moving sales tax to a very
[1:41] uncomfortable level for your finance
director and myself. Meaning setting
[1:44] sales tax at the current sales tax
collections
[1:48] would be to go up to to not quite 48%.
So, you do have room. Uh we we set the
[1:55] sales tax really low in this proposed
budget just because of what happened
[1:58] last year. Uh but there there is the
ability to to go above the 10% we have
[2:04] right now. So, I think Kobe, are you
prepared to say anything or do you want
[2:09] the chips to fall where they fall?
Um Renee, do you want to introduce
[2:15] where we are right now as of this
moment?
[2:26] » Good morning.
>> Good morning.
[2:28] » This is one of the years that's not as
much fun as the other years.
[2:32] Basically, what's happened this year is
we had a horrible year with our premium
[2:35] what we pay versus our claims.
Okay? Our claims are horrible. A good
[2:40] year we run about 65 to 70% premium
versus claims, so there's a 30% profit
[2:45] to pay it administration fees and all
that.
[2:47] This year we are running at 996%.
So,
[2:53] it's we're having a horrible year. We
have over $10 million in claims.
[2:56] And
>> Kobe, when you say we, you're saying the
[2:58] city.
>> City. I'm sorry. City and employees or
[3:00] like that. So, basically, what we do
every year is we put a RFP request for
[3:04] proposal and we go out and we go to
United Healthcare, we go to Cigna, we go
[3:08] to Blue Cross, we go to Aetna, or
whoever will write. We even went to
[3:11] company called Angle, Arlo, Curative.
We're searching hard to find somebody
[3:16] else. And everybody's declining us. So,
there's nobody playing ball with Blue
[3:20] Cross this year. Usually, we can find
somebody
[3:23] that will play, then we'll go back and
forth and get them to negotiate. But
[3:26] being that we're running so bad, nobody
wants our
[3:29] case. So,
there's nobody want that there's just
[3:33] nobody to do it. So, what we're trying
to do is
[3:36] be creative and try different plan
designs, um you know, just to [snorts]
[3:40] make it affordable for the city.
Um and the only only being that we only
[3:45] have Blue Cross to work with, they
didn't even come off their number.
[3:47] Usually, they'll come off 20, 15, 20%
depending. They just stayed cuz they I
[3:51] mean, let's just be honest, they
probably don't want the business either
[3:53] right now. So, what we're trying to do
is get creative working with the city is
[3:57] find ways to get our claims versus
premium
[4:00] back to where we need to get it. So,
we're looking at implementing programs
[4:04] to possibly help, you know, the
employees or the families that are
[4:08] having claims and uh possibly getting
them some better just help them out, try
[4:12] to help them out first. That's our first
priority.
[4:15] But, that being said, we are uh we came
across another program called the
[4:18] difference card. And what they do is
when you move to a higher deductible
[4:22] plan, of course, there's cost savings.
So, say you go from a
[4:26] 1,500 to a 6,000, 7,000 deductible,
there's like 20, 30, sometimes 35% of
[4:31] savings
to make it more affordable. But, what
[4:34] the difference card does, and this is
the first time I've used them, is they
[4:38] come in and they'll design a program to
where
[4:42] we save the 30, 40% with Blue Cross Blue
Shield, but then they'll design a
[4:46] program to where the employees'
deductible really isn't the $7,000.
[4:50] They'll use all that savings to come in
and implement a program and an
[4:53] administrator for us to where maybe the
deductible's only 1,500 or 4,000 to keep
[4:58] it reasonable and not this full, you
know, 7 to $10,000 out of pocket that
[5:02] we're faced with right now. So, we're
looking at the difference card. I know
[5:05] that's on the agenda as one of them. Uh
there's other programs we're looking at
[5:09] implementing to possibly help some of
these people out, too.
[5:12] But, in a nutshell, it's just it was a
it's been a bad year as far as premium
[5:15] versus claims, and
uh we're doing everything we can
[5:18] possibly do to keep health care for the
employees, you know, to keep a group
[5:23] health plan in there.
Uh I can tell you last year we did move
[5:26] to an HMO from a PPO. We had both of
them, and there was really no
[5:29] disturbance or any issues with the HMO.
It covered 98% of people here in El
[5:33] Campo. The local hospital worked with
them, but not only that, it covered all
[5:37] the people in Houston, Victoria, and all
that. So, we're looking in some options
[5:40] with them and just uh trying to get
creative, just to be honest, just keep
[5:43] health care for El Campo right now.
I'm open to any questions.
[5:47] I know I went to Yes, sir.
>> So, basically what the deal I'm
[5:51] understanding in layman's terms is that
we had so many claims.
[5:55] That's what created the difference and
so forth. Was there Is there any a
[5:59] reason here locally why Is there
something going on? Is it I mean, I know
[6:03] you can't disclose any personal
information, but what what area of
[6:07] claims was mostly utilized that made
this go up so badly this year?
[6:12] » We had We had multiple large claims.
>> Okay.
[6:16] » And I respect it. I wish I could tell
you more.
[6:18] » I'm not asking for
>> We had multiple. It just wasn't one
[6:20] claim. We've had multiple large claims.
And
[6:25] » Okay.
>> It's It's just
[6:27] It's been a bad year premium versus
claims.
[6:29] » So, it's nothing like a
>> No, it's It's not something like
[6:32] » pandemic or
>> somebody's using some type of medicine
[6:35] or something like that and we can If it
was like, okay, everybody's, you know,
[6:38] we have a bunch of diabetics, let's put
in a program to help these diabetics
[6:41] out.
>> Okay.
[6:42] » It's nothing like that. Or our whole
These are high blood pressure, let's
[6:45] implement a wellness program. It's just
been a horrible claim a horrible year
[6:49] for claims.
>> Okay.
[6:51] Thank you.
>> All right. Yes, sir.
[6:53] » Cowboy, it's pretty obvious from the
committee meeting to now that we can't
[6:56] afford Blue Cross Blue Shield.
So, can we get into the difference card
[7:00] to see which one's best that you came up
with?
[7:03] » Sure. Whatever you all want However you
all want to discuss it. Uh
[7:06] you have the difference card
presentations in front of you.
[7:09] Um I guess the one that Renee
and all of us have been discussing is
[7:15] the one that shows a $216,000 savings
possibly. I don't know which one you
[7:20] have there.
>> We've got We've got several.
[7:22] » Okay.
>> But but I think this is the one for the
[7:24] difference card, right?
>> Well, I just grabbed my
[7:27] » Yeah.
>> Uh excuse me. This chart today Is that
[7:29] something? I think
that is actually the difference card
[7:33] program is actually item number two.
>> Yes.
[7:35] » Uh so so I think what I think it has to
be to keep it simple, it has to be
[7:40] » Right.
>> separated. And then the first option is
[7:42] the Blue Cross Blue Shield and then the
second
[7:53] » And
and just just to be clear you Yeah,
[7:56] we've got to authorize Blue Cross Blue
Shield because we don't have anybody
[7:59] else.
>> Right. And then the difference card
[8:01] would come in and make up the difference
for a very watered down plan if that's
[8:06] the prerogative of the council.
>> Right, exactly. So so yeah, the
[8:10] difference card
like Kelly was saying it's it's
[8:12] basically another program that layers on
top of the Blue Cross Blue Shield
[8:16] traditional plan.
>> we need to authorize number one first.
[8:19] I make a motion we authorize resolution
2026-48.
[8:24] » Second.
>> We got a motion a second on the floor
[8:30] to approve resolution R 2026-48
as presented.
[8:36] Any further discussion?
All in favor?
[8:40] Motion passes. We will move on to item
number two.
[8:44] » Okay.
All right, thank [snorts] you.
[8:46] First of all, as we know Courtney said
we we're not going to go in with a 55
[8:51] plus That's not what we're looking at
doing. So we're going to
[8:54] alter plan design, get creative, do ways
something to help with the the employees
[8:58] keep it bring it down in the city.
The difference card is the next item on
[9:02] the on the agenda and what we did is we
found these people that go in and what
[9:06] they do if you look at your
presentation, I don't know which one
[9:09] exactly I have in front of
Uh but if you look
[9:12] Go to one of these pages. Mine's not as
pretty as yours.
[9:16] Okay.
[9:19] Basically what the difference card does
is they take Well, they they try to
[9:23] compare your current plan design and
then what they they do and the first one
[9:26] is your kind of your current benefits.
If you look for example, it says the
[9:29] employees have a $45 deductible, $90 for
specialist, $75
[9:34] uh it says what their deductible would
be on some of the plans which was a
[9:37] 5,000, 8150 out of pocket. So, if you
had a major surgery, you'd be out of
[9:41] pocket 81,150 dollars, okay, on that
plan. But, what they do is they move
[9:46] your plan with the Blue Cross plan. If
you look, it's stripped down. It says
[9:50] deductible deductible deductible
deductible all the way to 7,500.
[9:53] And what that means is on that plan you
have no office copays, you have no
[9:57] prescription coverage, or nothing until
you hit 7,500 dollars.
[10:02] So, for an employee, that's that's not a
really good deal. That's something to
[10:05] look forward to, like, oh. So, what the
difference card comes in is they come in
[10:09] and create a different plan design.
Cuz there's like 30 to 40% savings when
[10:13] you do that, okay? Cuz you're not having
those deductibles. But, what we did know
[10:18] is to answer your question,
majority of our employees don't ever hit
[10:22] their deductible.
Okay? Let's just say eight to 10 hit it
[10:25] a year, possibly, out of 150.
So, we're taking that 30 40% savings and
[10:30] we're Let's just say we're putting it
into a bucket and we're going to use
[10:33] that to help the employees with their
claims.
[10:35] So, we're building a new plan design
where they have their Blue Cross card,
[10:39] and in their mind they're not seeing the
7,500 dollar deductible, okay? They're
[10:42] seeing a card right here at the on this
on the PPO plan which the rates are
[10:46] still very high. So, the next plan is
going to be the more attractive one.
[10:50] But, what this plan would be designed to
do, and this is for example cuz we're
[10:53] still negotiating, is that fair to say,
Renee, on on the rates with the
[10:56] difference card? Is if they went on the
PPO plan, the difference card would pay
[11:01] the first 1,500 dollars of any employees
uh
[11:06] medical bills. And if it's an employee
plus one, which is employee
[11:10] uh children, family, spouse, they would
pay the first 3,000 dollars of their
[11:14] medical bills.
So, they're not looking at the 7,500
[11:17] dollar big, you know, deductible. And
then what what happened then on this
[11:21] plan design, then the employees would
pay the back 6,000 if they got that far.
[11:26] Well, they're paying 8150 right now on
that plan. So, what what doing is
[11:30] actually increasing their benefits. The
rates are going up cuz there's nothing
[11:33] we can do, but we're trying to get
creative and find ways to help these
[11:36] employees out. Okay? So, that's where
the difference card comes in. You'd have
[11:39] a Blue Cross card, and you'd have
another card to where that's the card
[11:43] they would show, and they would have
first dollar coverage. So, for 90% of
[11:46] our employees basically that do not have
more more than a thousand or fifteen
[11:50] hundred up to three thousand of family
worth of claims, this is a really good
[11:53] deal for them.
Okay?
[11:55] It's more expensive. There's nothing we
can do about the cost right now, but
[11:58] we're like I said, what we're doing is
we're looking at creative ways of
[12:01] possibly help these people out, and
hopefully next year we'll look
[12:03] attractive and we can get the cost back
down. Okay? Cuz honestly, I've never had
[12:07] a 58% rate increase. Okay? So, uh
hopefully we can find ways to get the
[12:12] cost back down. So, that would be the
PPO plan that we're looking at, which
[12:16] not it's about 50/50 their own PPO
versus HMO. And you can still the rates
[12:21] really still do go up where it's almost
it's
[12:24] pretty expensive.
And then the next plan is the other I
[12:27] guess is the other PPO plan.
>> Second
[12:30] » Yeah. So, go to the third plan if you
don't mind, please.
[12:33] In the green on the bottom right it it
says 766 for the employee only rate.
[12:38] So, basically this is the plan
that um
[12:42] I think a majority of our employees are
going to are going to go, you know,
[12:45] steer towards. Your basic Blue Cross
Blue Shield plan right now was a $35
[12:50] copay, $70 for a specialist.
Uh the deductible was 2,000, and if you
[12:55] had a major surgery, it was 6,000. Okay?
So, if I had a knee replacement
[12:58] something, I'm out of pocket six. I have
copays and everything on that plan.
[13:02] Okay? So, what we're doing is we're that
that was a 43% rate increase on that
[13:07] plan.
The PPO plan got a 68% rate increase.
[13:11] All right? So, what we're looking here
is moving our plan design with Blue
[13:15] Cross Blue Shield to a higher deductible
plan.
[13:19] Okay? Which is the one next to it.
And what that does it give us some cost
[13:23] savings to where we can implement
another program in.
[13:26] So, what this plan would do here, if we
go to the difference card as a option,
[13:31] what would happen is the member would
pay Excuse me, you'd have a $30 copay,
[13:35] just like you currently have, versus the
35. You'd have a $50 copay versus a 70
[13:40] for specialist, okay? So, you have the
options of still having your office
[13:44] copay. So, the majority of the employees
here and their families are going to be
[13:47] covered at the copay level, all right?
But, then what happens after that, the
[13:51] member, if they have a major surgery or
something, they're going to pay the
[13:54] first 4,500 of the surgery.
And then the difference card pick up the
[13:58] back end of all the expenses.
Okay? So, again, what our employees are
[14:04] looking at on their other plan they
currently have, they had a 6,000 out of
[14:06] pocket.
On this one, uh we're going to
[14:11] they're going to pay the first 4,500.
And then their max would be another
[14:15] 2,200. So, we're we're not really
hurting their benefits currently in what
[14:19] they're doing. We're trying to get their
benefits back to where they are at. Now,
[14:22] the cost is it's the cost. I mean,
that's that's the hard pill to swallow
[14:25] is
we can get creative on the plan designs,
[14:28] but the as you can see, you're still the
cost is going up, and that's where we're
[14:32] working hard with Whitney and Renee and
Courtney is to trying to find a way
[14:36] to possibly get it. But, for example, on
Blue Cross Blue Shield, when they give
[14:40] us our renewal, they'll give us
50 different plan designs,
[14:45] okay? And we'll go through them and try
to figure out which one's the best and
[14:49] what will work. And this is one of the
cheapest one. I hate these words cheap,
[14:52] that is on that plan at 754.
And that's why we're using that to get
[14:57] as much as cost savings as we can, and
then possibly use the difference card to
[15:01] build a plan design for the employees
and their families
[15:04] that doesn't hurt as bad,
you know?
[15:07] And the bottom line, the difference
card, what it allows us to do, if we can
[15:10] make it work, again, you take the cost
savings from the, you know, the 30 to
[15:15] 40% it's in a bucket of money. So,
instead of giving that money to Blue
[15:18] Cross in premium,
we're going to put it to the side in
[15:21] account and we're going to
>> [cough]
[15:23] » take
for up dollar cost for our employees.
[15:26] And we know it's guaranteed
by just moving the difference card
[15:30] versus our renewal. If we do one plan
design, it's like 200,000 savings. So,
[15:35] there's a max out of pocket. We cannot
we will not spend more than we would if
[15:39] we did not have the difference card.
Okay? So, by using this this difference
[15:43] card to help kind of I don't want to use
the word self-insured cuz it's not
[15:47] there's cost savings for the city. So,
there's no risk as far as using the card
[15:51] versus our maximum liability.
Okay? But, the bottom line is the
[15:55] maximum liability has jumped very high.
So, we got to find a way to get creative
[15:59] and keep keep benefits in.
Did I explain that or did I miss
[16:02] something, Renee, Courtney?
>> Kobe, the the one that you have here for
[16:06] the difference card that that where it
says base plan design, that's the that's
[16:11] the base plan with Blue Cross Blue
Shield that we would have and then we'd
[16:14] put the difference card on top. Is that
correct?
[16:16] » Correct.
>> Okay. Okay.
[16:17] » Correct.
>> Okay.
[16:19] Thank you.
>> So, we would offer two plan designs. We
[16:23] would offer an
HMO, which has been very successful for
[16:27] us.
>> Yeah.
[16:28] » And we'd offer one PPO, which is going
to be more expensive. And we're going to
[16:31] get creative and try to find the
employees the best, you know, cost
[16:34] sharing we can to keep insurance in the
city. And that's where I'm going
[16:37] » So, depending on what they would select,
the the employees of the city would have
[16:42] an option to stick with the base plan
design just with the Blue Cross Blue
[16:45] Shield, and then they would also have an
an option to put the difference card on
[16:49] top or do they have to do we have to
pick one of those?
[16:52] » card automatically be on top.
>> It'll automatically. Okay. Okay. So,
[16:55] they'll end up paying a little bit more
for the difference card. However, it
[16:58] gets them on the back end it's it's
better for them.
[17:01] » It's going to give them up front co-pays
and stuff like that to help employees
[17:04] out.
>> Yeah, I follow you.
[17:05] » So, they're they're they're tied
together if we do it.
[17:07] » Yes. Okay.
>> But, that's why we're
[17:11] you know, sorry we're calling a meeting
on Thursday after Labor Day is
[17:14] if we decide to do this, it's going to
take we're going to have to go to the
[17:17] employees to educate them on how this
works.
[17:19] » Yeah.
>> And then once they offer we decide what
[17:21] plan design they want with the Blue
Cross / Difference Card, we have to put
[17:25] that into the Blue Cross system, and
then the Difference Card got to build
[17:28] the plan design, and that takes another
10 to 12 days. So, we have two steps. We
[17:32] have a renewal, picking your Blue Cross
plan,
[17:36] but then we have to send that to the
Difference Card to build the cards for
[17:39] ready before October 1st for the
employees.
[17:40] » Cuz cuz one thing about it also, you're
y'all are I know y'all are still working
[17:45] with the Difference Card and Blue Cross
and negotiating with them on trying to
[17:49] get that 766 a little bit further closer
to that 750 as best we can, right? Okay,
[17:55] so there's still more discussions going
on.
[17:57] » Yes, it is
>> Okay. Okay.
[17:58] » getting creative on the plan design.
>> Yeah.
[17:59] » So, we want to write what happens, you
know, Difference Card if we raise the
[18:03] copay
>> Right.
[18:04] » from 30 to 40, how much savings do we
get?
[18:05] » Yeah, and try to lower it. Okay.
>> So, that's
[18:08] » Playing with it.
>> but Renee knows the maximum though.
[18:11] » Okay.
>> liability we have on it.
[18:12] » Got it.
>> Courtney, is the city comfortable with
[18:15] the 766?
>> Yeah, I
[18:19] we can make it work with the
the budget if that's where you're if
[18:23] that's what
>> I'm asking.
[18:25] » No, but yes?
>> No, [laughter] but yes.
[18:28] » It's not in the proposed budget right
now.
[18:31] That's your finance director's probably
panicking.
[18:34] As I tried to
explain the earlier this morning,
[18:38] you've your your sales tax is set I
would say pretty low in the proposed
[18:43] budget uh
which gives you a little bit of room to
[18:46] be able to make that that number work.
Um
[18:49] it will it will be difficult if sales
tax decreases. Uh you you'll we will
[18:56] have to have a conversation sometime in
the middle of the year as to what we
[18:59] will do if that happens, but um if you
hold sales tax as what it is currently
[19:04] this year, then you can absolutely
support the 766.
[19:11] Just can't predict what sales tax is
going to do, unfortunately.
[19:15] » We don't We don't have a whole lot of
choices here
[19:19] with the fact that too, we want to take
care of the city employees and and and
[19:23] people that take care of our community.
So, it's a
[19:26] It's a double-edged sword here.
>> I can say this that y'all done some
[19:30] you know, some
really hard work here,
[19:34] you know, trying to figure out exactly,
you know, what the best choice is for
[19:38] the city. And uh
you know, y'all y'all bringing this to
[19:41] the table for us
as a committee, we did discuss, you
[19:45] know, all this and everything. And um
we, you know,
[19:50] we really don't have much choice. We We
need to
[19:52] I think we need to move forward
with this. And get the ball rolling now.
[19:58] We can figure out exactly what we we
need to do. So, uh
[20:02] you know, we're we're in a
we're in a situation right now that
[20:06] we're trying to do the best thing for
for the employees of the city. And
[20:10] I think uh
you know, that's why we called a special
[20:13] call meeting and uh
I think
[20:17] as as a council, I think uh
we need to move forward. And get this
[20:22] going.
>> I'd like to say this is the beauty of
[20:25] having an agent that cares about the
city as well as the employees. He worked
[20:29] his tail off.
Lauren.
[20:31] » He He done a lot of work. So.
>> Thank you. And I
[20:34] want to say one more thing cuz I'm I'm
looking at the employees and their
[20:37] friends and I'm worried about their
families.
[20:40] paying the premiums, but we can also
look at individual plans for the
[20:43] employees. Which means that, you know, I
know we helped with the employees, but
[20:47] when we're looking at a premium of 3,800
for family, that's hard to stare at. You
[20:51] know, that's just
That's not fair. But what happens if we
[20:55] do have families, when I say families,
employees,
[20:58] spouse, employee, children, this is a
full family. Uh there is a individual
[21:03] plan that might be a better deal for the
family. So, So, can This is going to
[21:06] give us time to do is sit with these
dependents or families and go, "Hey, if
[21:10] you're going to be on this plan, you're
probably looking at X amount coming out
[21:13] of your check,
but if we move you to an individual plan
[21:16] that's not under the city's plan, you
know, maybe it's better for you to stay
[21:19] on the plan as the employee cuz the city
pays the premium, but maybe it's a
[21:23] better deal for your dependent to get on
individual plan because it's less
[21:27] expensive." Individual plans, it doesn't
matter regardless of your health, it's
[21:31] the same
quote for that for that age group, okay?
[21:35] So, if you're this age, it's this, it's
this, it's this. So, for some of our
[21:38] city employees' families, you know, we
don't want you off of the plan, but it
[21:42] might be a heck of a better deal instead
of staring at a, you know, $1,000 for
[21:46] employee only, you know, rate to get the
dependents on something like that. So,
[21:50] that's going to give us time to shop,
sit individually with the employees and
[21:54] say, "Look, you know, you have two kids,
maybe it's better to be on the plan. You
[21:57] have one kid, while we're going to pay
$200 a month, we can do it for $300 on
[22:01] an individual plan." So, uh
I appreciate the kind words, but that
[22:05] that's where I really want to get it
into we can try hard to get what's right
[22:08] for the employees instead of just
bringing this to you at the end of
[22:11] September and go, "Hey, I have no other
option." And then we're stuck with it,
[22:13] so
uh we're going to work with them
[22:15] one-on-one to try to help them.
>> How do the employees understand this and
[22:19] uh make decisions like this? Who
counsels with them or
[22:22] » It's a good question. Well,
>> Is it self-education or how's it work?
[22:25] » Yeah, good question. Uh
the way it's always worked, which has
[22:29] been beautiful, I'm sure everybody on
campus thinks I'm getting arrested every
[22:32] day cuz we have cop cars at our office
all the time. They will come in and sit
[22:36] with us one-on-one if they really want
>> Okay.
[22:38] » Their families
>> They come to you rather than somebody
[22:40] else.
>> Yeah, we'll have normal office We'll
[22:41] have We're having normal meetings where
we come out here. The difference part
[22:44] has offered to fly lady in for a couple
of days to go over all, you know, how
[22:48] this part would work and stuff like
that.
[22:50] But the beauty of this gets approved,
which is not the best beautiful plan in
[22:54] the world, just going to be honest with
you, is it's going to give us a almost a
[22:57] whole month to work with each employee
one-on-one, and we will, and they will
[23:01] come by. Sometimes it'll be the it'll be
the employee, sometimes it'll be the the
[23:05] wife usually that comes by.
And we'll sit one-on-one with them and
[23:08] go, "Hey, here's what it would be if
you're on the health plan. Here's what
[23:11] it would be if you go to individual
plan. Here's the way it works." So,
[23:14] we'll do that. We can also do Zoom
calls.
[23:17] Uh whatever we need to do for the city
employees to to make it work.
[23:21] » And what do we do for retirees, somebody
that retires from police department at
[23:25] 55 years old or something? Do we still
cover them or what do they do
[23:27] differently?
>> We don't. Okay.
[23:29] » not.
>> So, what do they do for insurance? Just
[23:31] go find some individual plan?
>> They usually get on Medicare.
[23:36] Or they find an individual plan. Yeah.
We don't even offer it.
[23:41] » I didn't know.
>> Usually when an an employee retires at
[23:44] age 65, they can get on Medicare Part A
and then we talked to Mr. Hodges about
[23:48] » No, but at 55, say.
>> Well, 55, they have to go pay for their
[23:51] own insurance on individual plan.
>> Just didn't know.
[23:54] » Yes, sir.
>> Beauty of John and I being on Medicare
[23:57] is our deductible is 250.
>> Yeah. And this is something you know, we
[24:01] want every employee, regardless of their
age, to feel comfortable that they are
[24:03] always welcome on our health plan.
But when you turn 65, as you know, some
[24:07] of you might know,
uh you get on Medicare Part A, which is
[24:10] your hospital insurance. You get on
Medicare Part B, which is your
[24:12] outpatient, you know, and then copay to
go to the doctor insurance.
[24:16] And that the beauty of that it's really
not that expensive.
[24:19] » Right.
>> And then you can get a Medicare
[24:21] supplement for about 150 bucks a month.
And then you get a Medicare Part D for
[24:24] your prescription. So, basically, the
average person on Medicare, your
[24:28] insurance is costing you about 250 a
month.
[24:30] And that's all in. Like Mr. Hodges said,
that's almost like no deductible, no
[24:34] nothing. So, Medicare is a great deal
for people over 65. Okay? But what we
[24:40] got to make sure we know is any
employee, regardless of their age, is
[24:42] always welcome on our health plan. I
mean, we we don't we don't want to make
[24:45] anybody feel like it's not a good deal
for them.
[24:48] And the one reason is because the city
pays majority of the premiums. But at
[24:52] the same time, if you look at your
premium versus the deductible you're
[24:54] going to be paying for this, you know,
you have to weigh your options. So,
[24:57] again, that's why it's kind of important
we get something done where we can sit
[25:01] with every individual and kind of come
up with a plan for them. And some of
[25:04] them might be able to jump on their
spouse's plan.
[25:07] Or [clears throat] at least move their
kids to their spouse's plan.
[25:09] You know, they've been on the city's
plan cuz it's been a really good
[25:11] premium, and now it's going up. Well,
let me go look at, you know, my wife's
[25:15] plan and see if it's better with the
school district or something to move
[25:17] little Johnny and Sue to that plan. So,
this will give them time to make an
[25:21] educated decision on their health care.
>> It's great that you're helping them.
[25:25] » Thank you, sir.
>> Mayor, I move that we move forward with
[25:28] the approval of resolutions R-2026-49
as presented supporting the
[25:34] options to continue to negotiate on the
difference score.
[25:40] » Second.
>> We got a motion a second on the floor to
[25:44] approve resolution R-2026-49
as presented and to
[25:52] also go with the difference score.
So,
[25:56] any discussion?
All in favor?
[26:00] Motion passes.
[26:03] All right. At this time, this meeting is
adjourned. I want to thank everybody for
[26:08] coming in.
Thank you all very much. Have a great
[26:11] week.