KERRVILLE, Texas – Kerrville first responders and other city employees are dealing with changes that will increase their monthly payment toward insurance for themselves and their families.
Several Kerrville families told KSAT they’re facing a difficult decision about which family members will receive healthcare coverage.
“We’re faced with which child do we choose,” Hailey Huser, the wife of a Kerrville firefighter, said.
On July 22, the City of Kerrville approved new health insurance costs for all city employees. The change in insurance plans offered and costs offered will affect first responders who helped during and after the July 4 flooding in the Hill Country and their families.
“Our first responders that are boots on the ground doing the work during that flood are having to take a massive pay cut just to stay insured,” Meagan Booth, the wife of a firefighter, said.
The city touted a recent consecutive 12-year-run of not raising the employee contribution for health insurance.
The City of Kerrville sent KSAT an email stating Blue Cross Blue Shield proposed a 17.7% increase and that “absorbing those costs would have required significant cuts to service and staffing.” Instead, the city is passing the cost increase down to the employees.
The new insurance options are a new Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan or the existing Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan for an increased employee contribution cost.
Kerrville first responder Patrick Brunelli said, “100% of the city was on the PPO plan or is currently on the PPO plan.”
Assistant City Manager Kimberly Meismer shared this information on the record in a council meeting on July 22.
“With the significant negotiations, BCBS best and final offer went down to 17.7% with some plan replacement options,” Meismer said. “Those were, replace the current HSA — Health Savings Account — which no one chose so no one was on that plan, with a HMO, which is a Health Maintenance Organization plan.”
Considering all city employees use one of four tiers of the PPO plan offered, the families KSAT spoke with said they were frustrated to find out that the amount they contribute to their plan could be doubling in less than two months.
“None of us are trying to be rich,” Kerrville firefighter Micah Booth said. “We knew that we weren’t going to the day we decided to be a fireman, but we do expect to have basic needs met.”
For the past 12 years, the highest tier of the city’s PPO plan covered the employee, their spouse and their children for $156 per paycheck. After the increase, the same plan will cost families $326 per paycheck — a monthly increase of $340 in health insurance.
“What we’ve discussed is taking Raiden out of speech therapy, because we pay $60 per visit for him with the insurance, and putting that money towards paying for the PPO plan,” Huser said.
The city said both Mayor Joe Herring and City Manager Dalton Rice were unavailable for interviews on Monday and Tuesday due to prior commitments and the city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening.
“There’s so many people that are hanging in for the benefits while we struggle to put food in the fridge and make car payments,” Booth said.
Families said that while they weren’t on the previous HRA/HAS plan, they have considered the new HMO plan, but they said the HMO plan comes with its own set of issues that Huser’s two sons who were considered deaf, because of an issue that had to be surgically corrected, will have to deal with directly.
“He’s in speech and occupational therapy,” Huser said. “His 2-year-old brother ended up having the same issue. If we were to switch to the HMO plan, little brother will lose his services completely. His providers are completely out of network.”
“The HMO, most of our doctors, most of our specialists are not taking,” Andrea Brunelli, the wife of a first responder, said.
The city sent KSAT a statement about the new HMO plan and its coverage from providers based on the history of how employees have used their insurance plan.
“Based on utilization data provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, City of Kerrville employees and dependents accessed services from 1,156 providers within the BCBSTX PPO,” the email said. “Only 13 providers (1.12%) utilized under the PPO plan would not have been available within the HMO network,” the email said.
Regardless, the families are going to have to decide whether they will spend an additional $340 per month, which is $4,080 annually, or if they will switch to the HMO plan.
Residents speak at city council meeting
A majority of the 14 community members who spoke at the Kerrville City Council meeting on Tuesday voiced their concerns about the rising health insurance costs.
“For firefighters, access to mental health care is not optional,” Megan Booth, the wife of another Kerrville firefighter, said. “During the July 4th flood, they showed up without hesitation working around the clock. Now they face higher health care costs on top of stagnant wages."
Another Kerrville resident told the city council neither of the healthcare coverage options are “practically or financially feasible.”
“I ask you to review the benefit changes after considering the real adverse personal impact on city employees,” Mary Elizabeth Bartlett said. “Not just the dollars saved by the city at the next city council meeting. I ask you to be transparent with your intentions with our benefits.”
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