TO: Mayor and Commission AGENDA DATE: 10/26/2026
FROM: City Manager AGENDA ITEM: 7 - H
SUBJECT:
Title
Request for approval of award for Employee Health Benefits - Plan Year 2027.
Body
LOCATION:
City Wide
COST:
$6,110,605, an increase of $137,444 over current $5,973,161, or 2.3% for total employer/employee cost
SOURCE OF FUNDS:
All Operating Funds
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT:
Human Resources
POTENTIAL MOTION:
Recommendation
“I move to authorize the City Manager to bind the Health Insurance Carriers as presented by Gehring Group.”
END
BACKGROUND:
Background
Each year, the City’s insurance Broker / Consultant solicits renewal quotes from our health insurance carriers and provides a comparative analysis of premiums, plan designs, network coverage, and projected cost impacts. The Broker / Consultant’s role is to assist the City by gathering market proposals, evaluating carrier options, and presenting the findings in a format that supports informed decision-making.
Upon review of the Broker / Consultant’s analysis of the renewal received an average 29.5% increase over the current medical premium with UnitedHealthcare, the City decided to go out to market for all lines of coverage.
We received proposals from the following health coverage
• UnitedHealthcare
• Aetna
• Cigna
• Florida Blue / Florida Health Care Planes
The recommended program from our Broker / Consultant results from a competitive bid and best and final offer process. It balances overall cost, benefit value, provider access and service considerations while expanding employee plan choice and HSA funding. City staff and Gehring Group believe the recommended carriers and plan structure provide the best overall value for the City and its employees for the 2027 plan year. These carriers offer the most advantageous combination of cost, coverage, and service for the upcoming plan year while maintaining plans that offer the same PCPs.
The City will be transitioning coverage as follows
• Medical / Prescriptions - From UnitedHealthcare to Florida Health Care Plans / Florida Blue
• HSA Contributions - No Change remain with Optum Bank
• Dental - From UnitedHealthcare to MetLife
• Vision - From UnitedHealthcare to MetLife
• Employee Assistance Program - From UnitedHealthcare to Bree Health
• Life / AD&D - No Change remain with Ochs / Madison National Life
• Short -Term Disability - No Change remain with Ochs / Madison National Life
Approval of this item authorizes the City Manager to engage the health insurance carriers selected by the City based on the broker / consultant’s quote review and evaluation, pursuant to Resolution No. 2025-147 - Purchasing Policy as it is considered an exempt purchase and may be approved by the City Manager as it was part of the Adopted Fiscal Year 2026 - 2027 budget as approved by Resolution No. 2026-88.
End