Committee analysts presented two competing recommendations to set the FY2026 health insurance base for eligible full-time positions and other variable benefit charges: the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee (CEC) recommended a base of $13,960 per eligible FTE; the governor recommended $14,300 per eligible FTE.

Representative Miller moved to adopt the governor’s recommendation of $14,300 per eligible FTE (total FY2026 increase described as $56,315,200 across general, dedicated and federal funds); Representative Furness offered a substitute motion to adopt the CEC recommendation of $13,960 per eligible FTE (total $40,261,200). The committee debated actuarial reserve levels, risk exposure and the trade-offs of reserve size versus premium increases.

Keith Bybee summarized Milliman actuarial projections: under the CEC recommendation, the health-plan contingency reserve would fall to approximately $51,600,000, effectively the statutory minimum of 10% of plan costs; the total projected plan cost in FY2026 is approximately $482,000,000. Bybee said the governor’s recommendation would leave about an additional $10,000,000 cushion above that minimum (a Milliman projection later cited in committee placed the governor scenario fund balance about $61,400,000, a roughly $19,000,000 decrease from current levels).

Laurie Wolf, administrator for the Division of Financial Management, and Faith Knowlton, administrator for the Division of Insurance and Internal Support (Department of Administration), told the committee that falling below the 10% contingency could expose the state to a risk charge assessed by the insurer; Knowlton said the amount of any risk charge “would be dependent upon how much we fall below the 10% contingency reserve.”

The substitute motion to adopt the CEC figure of $13,960 failed on a combined tally (reported as 9 ayes, 11 nays). The original motion to adopt the governor’s $14,300 figure then failed to secure the required majority from both bodies of the committee (the Senate did not register a majority for that motion), leaving no adopted change to the health insurance base at this meeting.

Committee members repeatedly returned to two facts: the current reserve balance (members quoted approximately $80.49 million), the actuarial projections for plan cost and reserves, and the contractual obligation that the plan maintain at least a 10% contingency. No change was adopted; staff will return with further information for a future meeting.