KERRVILLE, Texas – The City of Kerrville will offer its employees a third insurance plan option after voicing concerns about increased monthly payments, City Manager Dalton Rice announced in a meeting Tuesday.
The new plan is a mid-tier, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) option available to employees and their families.
Kerrville is recommending its employees select the new plan, which is completely paid for by the city if the employee is the only person covered.
When covering additional family members, the new plan is more expensive than the low-tier Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan, but cheaper than the original PPO plan offered.
The highlight of the plan is that it offers expanded access to providers, providing out-of-network coverage not available through the low-tier Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan.
While the newly introduced mid-tier PPO plan offers a more cost-effective option for staff, employees told KSAT it also raises deductibles compared to the PPO option offered in previous years by the city.
Open enrollment has been extended until next Friday.
Employees who were concerned about the changes told KSAT the previous options were forcing difficult conversations about how to cover family members.
Kerrville first responder Patrick Brunelli said 100% of the city was or is on the PPO plan. That plan faced a 17.7% increase in costs from Blue Cross Blue Shield, according to an email sent to KSAT by Kerrville officials.
The city said it was the first time it had raised the employee contribution for insurance on city employees in 12 years.
In Tuesday’s meeting, Rice said he met with “well over” 90% of city employees within a week to discuss their concerns and find a solution, which brought the city back to the negotiating table with its provider.
The changes will cost the city an additional $168,000, but Rice said that the added cost will not impact the city’s bottom line.
Rice also denied that the changes were related to the backlash.
“This has nothing to do with all the noise,” Rice said Tuesday. “As long as we are truly taking care of our employees, that is what matters.”
Read also: