Employees electing family medical plan coverage for 2020 will receive a $90 per month increase in their Flex Credit benefit after City Council approval at its September 4 meeting.
This Flex Credit change was recommended to the City Council after reviewing the larger-than-expected increases in CalPERS’ health-plan rates rates for 2020 and working with all bargaining groups to support employees with unexpectedly high increases that emerged after three-year contracts were completed.
The majority of the City’s comparable agencies in our labor market offer different contribution amounts for the different plan levels (employee only, employee+1, family).
Since two-thirds of City employees are enrolled in Kaiser, the recommendation was based on the 12% Kaiser increase and the following analysis for each coverage level using the 2020 City contribution amount ($1,545/mo):
- Employee only level benefits are 100% covered (across all medical, dental, vision, and LTD plans),
- Employee+1 plans are covered over 87% (acrosss Kaiser medical, dental, vision, and LTD plans),
- Family level benefit plans are covered 69% (across Kaiser medical, dental, vision, and LTD plans).
Based on the analysis above, the added $90 per month Flex Credit for family level covers 73% of the health costs for 2020, as compared to 74% for 2019.
The recommendation is based on the $209/mo increase for Kaiser minus the $30/mo negotiated contribution increase for 2020, leaving $180/mo split in half. There is still an estimated $600/mo out-of-pocket employee expense.
City Council was fully supportive of the recommendation in light of the unexpected CalPERS rate increases.
Employees are encouraged to review the CalPERS rate changes. The Blue Shield Access+ plan will be experiencing a $641 per month increase in 2020. Employees may want to consider other plans during open enrollment, which begins September 9.
Due to the timing of this benefit revision, the additional $90 Flex Credit benefit amount for those who elect family level medical will not display in Oracle during Open Enrollment. It will instead be reflected as an additional contribution on the paycheck starting in January 2020. If the contribution will apply to you, please keep this in mind as you are determining your actual out-of-pocket costs.
For more details about this change, the Council Communication regarding this issue can be reviewed here.
You can watch video of the presentation to the City Council here.
If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources for assistance.