Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council Special Meeting on Health Insurance Rates, October 21, 2026

On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council convened a special meeting to act on a single agenda item: establishing health insurance rates and plan design for city-parish employees and retirees effective January 1, 2027. Mayor-President Sid Edwards and consultants from Hub International presented the proposal, members of the public testified, and after debate the council approved an amended version.

Health Insurance Rate Proposal and Consultant Presentation

• Mayor Edwards said an earlier draft of the plan would have raised premiums by 50 percent and was rejected. He said the administration then worked with unions and employees for nearly 10 hours over two days, removed the spousal surcharge, lowered premiums, and added two new narrow-network options. He said the city cannot keep delaying action because waiting longer could force a ‘nuclear option’ next year.
• Hub International’s Kevin Gardner described the city-parish plan as self-funded. He said national health-care trend increases are running 9 to 11 percent per year; the city-parish share of plan costs rose from 74 percent in 2017 to 79.7 percent in 2025; total plan expenses rose from $67 million in 2017 to $79 million in 2025; and 2026 was running $5 million over budget through August, with an expected year-end overrun of $6.5 million to $8 million.
• Gardner also said the Medicare Advantage move produced savings of roughly $8 million versus the projected $6.9 million, and that large claimants were a major driver of the overrun: seven claimants over $250,000 cost about $2.9 million in 2025, while ten such claimants in 2026 had already cost $5.2 million.
• Michael Dubrell outlined plan enhancements, including an alternative to orthopedic surgery, a spousal incentive health reimbursement arrangement capped at the ACA out-of-pocket maximum of $12,000 with a $500-per-month premium-differential payment, and two new narrow-network options: Community Blue and Precision Blue. The originally proposed employee premium increases were 20 percent for HMO, 20 percent for POS, and 30 percent for the high-deductible health plan.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Jake Morgan, president of the Baton Rouge Firefighters Union, opposed the proposal as written. He said his request to use the standing health care committee was not followed, that family premiums would rise by hundreds of dollars a month, and he asked the council to halve the increase to 10 percent and 15 percent. After the 15/15/25 amendment was proposed, Morgan said the union would accept it.
• A retired Baton Rouge firefighter opposed the size of the increases, noting that some employees make $12.75 per hour, or under $30,000 per year, after a 3.5 percent raise. He said increases are necessary but should not fall so heavily on lower-paid workers and retirees.
• A District 10 resident whose mother died about nine years ago told the council that first responders helped her family and asked the council to vote no on the item as proposed, examine other options, and return with a more equitable plan.
• Ted Stevens, a city-parish employee, supported the increase. He described his son’s 2022 medical care, saying bills totaled $914,000, the plan paid about $184,000, and the family’s only out-of-pocket cost was the deductible. He said he would gladly pay the increase to preserve that protection for other families.
• Brandon O’Neill, president of the Baton Rouge Police union, expressed concern about the financial burden on employees but credited Mayor Edwards for reducing the earlier 50 percent proposal to the 20/30 percent range and for removing the $300-per-month spousal surcharge. He did not ask for a no vote and said the union wants to work with the administration on long-term solutions.

Discussion Items

• Several council members, including Councilwoman Adams, Councilwoman Rocka, and Councilman Hudson, said the increases were difficult but necessary to avoid deeper service cuts and a harsher future premium spike. Councilwoman Rocka said she had warned during the May pay raises that a 4 percent raise could be followed by insurance changes, and she called for a benefits committee to begin meeting immediately.
• The city finance director said the insurance reserve had about $13 million, the 2026 plan was expected to overspend by $6 million to $8 million, and doing nothing would leave another large deficit and could force a mid-year premium adjustment. She estimated that each 5 percent of employee premium increase equals about $700,000, and that the 15/15/25 amendment would create a roughly $700,000 general-fund gap requiring departments to reduce budgets.
• Councilman Moak proposed the 15/15/25 substitute to ease the burden on employees, saying savings could be found elsewhere, such as not funding certain projects. Councilman Dunn Jr. opposed both initial motions and urged the council to find budget savings first, citing the St. George withdrawal, legacy costs, and competing priorities. Councilwoman Coleman said employees are constituents and asked about Medicare Advantage migration and family-plan costs.
• Councilman Gote raised concerns about making changes on the spot and about cuts to public safety budgets. He asked the Fire and Police union representatives whether the 15/15/25 figure changed their positions; the Firefighters’ president said it did, while the Police union president said cutting police or fire budgets was not desirable.

Key Outcomes

• The substitute motion by Councilman Moak to approve the item with 15/15/25 employee premium increases failed.
• The original motion to approve the item as presented, with 20/20/30 proposed employee premium increases, also failed.
• Councilman Hudson then renewed the 15/15/25 proposal, Councilman Moak seconded it, and the motion carried. The final adopted employee premium increases are 15 percent for HMO, 15 percent for POS, and 25 percent for the high-deductible health plan, effective January 1, 2027.
• The mayor committed to convening a benefits committee starting January 2, 2027, rather than waiting until August or September, to work on long-term options.
• The finance director said departments would be asked in January for proportionate budget reductions to cover the general-fund impact of the amended premium increases.
• The transcript does not record individual vote tallies; it reports that the first two motions failed and the third motion carried.