Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Rockport City Council held its seventh budget workshop on August 11, 2026, focusing on the FY 2026-2027 budget, a proposed switch in employee health insurance providers, property tax rate calculations, and water/sewer rate adjustments.
I did not call other parts. Anyone present that had in mind to speak in each three minutes? If not. The finance department. Yeah, we've got to get to the church. Can we put it over to the budget screen? Yes, just a second. I'm sorry. I won't answer that. She's not fixing these things. Mayor Council, thank you. Um the first item up is our employee um health metal medical medical division vision and dental uh insurance. Um there's really no change on the dental and vision, however, there was some changes with the uh medical. We have a hundred and twenty-six employees that are actually on this program, of which twenty-nine utilize the HSA plan and the other ninety-seven um de uh utilize the PPO. When they we originally went out for bids um this year, they came back at United Health came back with a thirty-nine percent increase. And so we obviously were looking around for other options, and the only other person are the only other group that uh responded was Blue Cross Blue Shield. And um after negotiating with both entities, we were able to get Blue Shop Blue Cross Blue Shield down to eleven point two eight percent increase, but there are some options and changes in those benefits. The largest changes are obviously moving back from un United Help to Blue Cross Blue Shield. There's also a shift in calculating instead of doing from October through September, which is our calendar excuse me, our fiscal year, we'll be shifting back to January through December, which is a calendar year. Anything that this employees have paid towards their deductibles or out of pocket expenses from January through September of this year through the United Health will still be calculated in for October through December with Blue Cross Blue Shield for a combined total. So we'll still be adding that up and they'll still be covered for the same deductible options. Um the um new HSA and the PPO plan under Blue Cross Blue Shield will have options for out-of-pocket network, excuse me, out of network options. And um that's something that we haven't had. The most new program on here is an HMO program that's new to uh our options and of course that has no out-of-network options. There are some slight differences in co-pays and pharmacy options, and some of them went up a little, some of them went down a little. It's just kind of it kind of balances it out itself out. Um the deductible for the family coverage for the HMO and the PPO has increased by two thousand dollars. Um however, the maximum out of pocket for the individuals for those same HMO and PPO um was decreased by two thousand one hundred and fifty. So it again it it they're kind of balancing things out. The maximum out of pocket for the family has a decrease of six hundred. The HSA plan, the deductibles and the MacDon maximums for out of pocket essentially remain the same because we're introducing an HRA program. So it's a health reimbursement uh account. So once they pay their first um thirty-five hundred, um, then the next jump up the city uh reimburses them once it's paid up to the max that's out of pocket. Um so those are some uh main differences. Because the PPO plan is uh considerably higher in premiums, there will be an employee cost share of 125 dollars a pay period in addition to any dependent coverage, but they still have two options an HR excuse HSA and an HMO that are free for employee only coverage. So they still do have options at the