Abilene Commission Approves Move to Self-Funded Employee Health Plan for 2027
The Abilene City Commission on October 26 voted 4-0 to accept the city Employee Insurance Committee's recommendation and approve a self-funded employee health insurance program proposed by Gallagher for 2027. Vice Mayor Cy Taylor recused himself from the item, citing his relationship with Gallagher.
The city's current fully insured coverage through the Kansas Municipal Insurance Trust (KMIT) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield expires December 31. According to the meeting packet, the proposed 2027 renewal carried premium increases of more than 21%, though the city's agreement caps the increase at 20%.
Under the Gallagher proposal, the city would pay employee medical claims directly, with stop-loss insurance through TrueCaptive and Everest. Stop-loss coverage would begin once claims for an individual covered person exceed $50,000, and the plan includes aggregate stop-loss protection with an attachment point of $586,212. The packet listed Gallagher's modeled annual cost at $944,529, compared with $1,023,744.86 in projected funding under the current arrangement, a difference of about $79,216. Staff cautioned in the packet that the difference is not guaranteed savings, because the city's actual costs would depend on claims.
Staff said Gallagher's plans would keep the same employee deductibles, copayments and out-of-pocket maximums as the current plans. The packet notes that leaving KMIT would prevent the city from rejoining for three years.
The committee's recommendation was conditional on Gallagher providing revised agreements by Thursday, October 30, addressing items including termination provisions, governing law, final underwriting and binding stop-loss coverage. The approved motion authorizes the mayor to sign the documents and the city to give notice of termination of the current coverage once City Attorney Aaron Martin finds the agreements acceptable. Staff said that if acceptable agreements cannot be reached, it would recommend renewing the current KMIT coverage for 2027.
