The Great Bend City Council on Monday approved 2025 health insurance rates, which will increase 9%, and approved Blue Cross Blue Shield as the city’s third-party administrator.

The health insurance committee met on Sept. 18 with Gallagher and Freedom Claims and chose the 9% increase.

Mike Minton from Gallagher attended Monday’s council meeting. It was noted that Gallagher’s actuaries recommended a 24% increase but Minton said that did not take into account how much the city has in reserve. His recommendation was 12% because the once-healthy reserves have dwindled over the years.

“The funding has not kept up with the trend for the last few years,” he said. “You had a wonderful rainy day fund (in 2020) but it has gone down.”

Meanwhile, there is $240,983 in the city’s Health Benefit Fund. That fund was from when the City was fully insured back in 2011 and then the city switched to self-funded insurance with a third-party administrator. The Health Benefit Fund has been sitting on the book and will be transferred to the self-funding account.

Even so, an increase was recommended.

“Times are inflationary,” Minton said. The 9% approved should be sufficient but probably won’t build up the reserves.

Minton said the committee looked at adding prescription drugs to the health benefits but didn’t see enough employee interest. “Most didn’t want to see their premiums go up.” He said they also looked at the cost of switching back to a fully insured model and the recommendation was to continue with the self-funded model.

He also noted that Benefit Management handled the flex plan and Freedom Claims picked it up after Benefit Management closed.