MANSFIELD — The Mansfield City Schools committee will meet on Wednesday, Aug. 6 to discuss responses to an RFP (request for proposals) for health insurance broker services.
The board of education voted in April to authorize an RFP to aid the district in securing a “qualified independent health care insurance consultant/broker to provide the Board with an objective audit and analysis of the District’s current insurance coverages as well as available market alternatives, competitive benefit and plan design options, innovations, etc., and potential cost savings.”
Mansfield City Schools received eight proposals in response.
The health insurance committee consists of two school board members, district administrators and union representatives.
Its meetings aren’t public, but the committee doesn’t make final decisions — only recommendations, which must be voted on in public by the school board.
Mansfield City Schools’ current health insurance broker is Roby Foster Miller Earick (RFME), a Mansfield-based firm.
District officials said in April the RFP does not mean Mansfield City Schools will change brokers; it simply allowed treasurer Tammy Hamilla to solicit proposals.
“There have been a lot of people that have approached me about wanting to come in and pitch to us about what they can do for us for insurance,” Hamilla told the board earlier this year.
Hamilla confirmed to Richland Source that the committee will meet to discuss the proposals next week.
“I don’t have any idea of the time frame for when the Insurance Committee will have a recommendation for the board,” she said via email.
Who submitted proposals?
DCW Group is a father-and-son lead firm based in Brecksville, Ohio. Its client districts include Bedford City School District, Willoughby-Eastlake City School District, Riverside Local School District, Boardman Local Schools and Bedford City Schools.
Grady Benefits is a family-owned and operated agency based in Columbus. The firm specializes in group coverage for public education, according to its proposal, and provides benefit packages to more than 350 educational and government entities.
Hamilton Insurance Group has offices in Mansfield and Columbus.
HUB International is the largest privately held broker in the U.S. and the fifth largest in the world, according to its proposals. Its has four Ohio offices, located in Dublin, Findlay, Dayton and Cincinnati.
McGohan Brabender is an employee-owned company with offices in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, Fort Mitchell and Cleveland. The firm supports 250 school districts and local governments statewide, according to its proposal.
Milestone Benefits Agency is located in Powell, Ohio. It currently represents 12 school districts across the state of Ohio, including Ashland City Schools and Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools, according to its proposal.
NFP is an Aon company headquartered in New York City, though it has an Ohio-based team. It has 57 public school district and educational service center clients in Ohio, according to its proposal.
Oswald Companies is a Cleveland-based firm that currently partners with school districts including the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Akron Public Schools, Parma City Schools, Mayfield Schools and Hudson City School District as well as several consortia, according to its proposal.
Broker change wouldn’t impact employee benefits
Regardless of whether the district switches brokers, employees won’t see their rates or benefits change as a result.
School board president Chris Elswick said the district can’t change the plan provided to union employees under the existing contract.
Rising health insurance care costs have put financial pressure on Mansfield City Schools, which self-funds its plan.
The district recently had Roby Foster Miller Earick renegotiate its health plan, which district leaders say could save between $1 million and $2.5 million in costs over the next year.
However, Elswick said the district won’t know for sure how much the plan changes saved the district until later this year, when claims begin to be processed.
Nevertheless, John Roby of RFME said the main reason Mansfield City’s health insurance costs are so high is because of the generous terms included in the union’s collective bargaining agreement — including high HSA contributions and a lack of spousal carveout.
Roby said those terms were set before he, Supt. Stan Jefferson or Hamilla were working for the district.
“We just provided a market study of the Midwest with similar plans and Mansfield City Schools continually on every category is ranked the highest benefits of all peers,” Roby said.
Health insurance costs a heavy burden for school districts
Increasing employee health insurance costs have become an enormous pain point for school districts across the country.
In a survey by EdWeek, 35 percent of public school administrators said the cost of providing health insurance to employees increased by 11 percent or more between 2023 and 2024.
Treasurer Bradd Stevens of Madison Local Schools recently said health insurance costs are “bankrupting” the district.
While data on health insurance was not immediately available, data from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce shows that are school districts are spending around 30 percent of their operating monies on fringe benefits — which includes health insurance and other non-salary compensation like retirement contributions.