The Gardner City Finance Committee reviewed the status of the city's health insurance payments and trust fund on Dec. 10. Committee materials and an update from staff and the mayor indicated the trust fund balance was approximately $1.392 million.

Mayor (unnamed) told the committee the city continues to see claim activity that exceeds the level of monthly deposits, and that the city pays a flat monthly fee to Blue Cross with supplemental bills issued when claims are higher. "We are seeing the claims still come in significantly higher than the level of monthly deposit that we normally give," the mayor said, citing high-cost prescription claims (GLP-1 medications) and certain elective surgeries as major contributors.

The mayor said staff are monitoring trends and noted a budgeting change: the city moved health insurance rate-setting to the fiscal year rather than an Oct. 1 schedule, which has improved predictability for budget planning despite increased claim activity.

Committee members thanked the mayor and former auditor for preparing and sharing historical claim and balance information. No formal actions were taken; the committee indicated the item would remain on future agendas for monitoring.