Wadsworth council approves health insurance changes, removes HSA proposal

WADSWORTH — Wadsworth City Council approved changes to employee health insurance contributions Tuesday after months of discussion over rising healthcare costs, employee contributions and a proposed health savings account. Council approved an amended version of an ordinance to change employee health insurance contributions after removing a section that would have established a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account. Under the approved changes, non-bargaining employees contribute 8 percent of their health insurance premium if they participate in the city's wellness program and 10 percent if they do not. The new rates took effect with the pay period beginning Aug. 23, with the first paycheck reflecting the changes scheduled for today. The revised contributions are expected to increase the city's employee collections by approximately $90,000. Previously, non-bargaining employees paid flat amounts established by ordinance rather than a percentage of their premiums. Those payments amounted to roughly 5 percent to 7 percent of premiums, depending on coverage and wellness status. Human Resources Director Tara McCullough has said the city's lower employee contributions were intentional because health insurance has been an important recruitment and retention benefit. Independent reviewCouncil also considered an independent review of the city's health insurance plan conducted by OneDigital. The review found that Wadsworth negotiated a 1 percent renewal increase for its Medical Mutual coverage. The insurer's initial proposal would have increased costs by 9.9 percent. OneDigital found Wadsworth's employee contributions were below the benchmarks it examined. The consultant recommended eventually moving employee contributions toward 12 percent and outlined a multiyear strategy for addressing the city's health insurance costs. Council discussed whether to establish a specific schedule for future contribution increases but ultimately chose to review the percentages annually instead. "Absolutely, and I think that would probably be more appropriate instead of setting a step-up percent," McCullough said. The review also identified Wadsworth's relatively low out-of-pocket maximums as a significant cost driver. The city's maximum is $1,000 for individual coverage and $2,000 for family coverage. OneDigital recommended that the city consider gradually increasing those limits as part of a longer-term effort to control health insurance costs. HSA proposal removedThe proposed HSA was one of the most debated portions of the ordinance. OneDigital recommended launching a high-deductible health plan with an HSA on Jan. 1, 2027. McCullough told Council that an HSA could potentially reduce costs for the city over the long term, but she questioned whether employees would participate under the proposed structure. "I think it's very, very, very unlikely that we'll have any employees in the opening of this plan because of how it's funded and structured," McCullough said. Council members also expressed concerns about moving forward before employees had enough information about how the plan would affect them. "I think we really need to educate our employees, let them know what the benefits are, and how this is going to impact their daily lives," Council member Chris Maxwell said. Council ultimately removed the section that contained the HSA provision. The option could be revisited during the 2027 budget process. Questions date to 2025The health insurance discussion dates back to a December 2025 Council resolution seeking information about how Wadsworth's employee health insurance contributions compared with those in similar municipalities. The resolution called for the comparison by April 1, 2026. During a May 6 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council President Dan Rospert questioned the status of the requested information and said he had contacted McCullough several times about it. Service Director Matt Hiscock said at the time that the administration was aware of concerns about the April 1 date and that it would not have information about new options and current premium updates by that deadline. Rospert clarified that Council was seeking information about the percentage of premiums paid by employees compared with the city, rather than future premium rates. The issue continued through several Council and committee meetings during the summer, with the most attention in August as deadlines loomed. By Monday, the discussion had become time-sensitive. McCullough told Council on Tuesday that the city needed the ordinance that day because its previous health insurance contract had expired the day before. The city will now move forward with its PPO coverage and the new employee contribution rates while leaving the HSA proposal for future consideration. Contact reporter Brooke Adams at (440) 822-8373 or badams@medina-gazette.com.