WCSD: Board will consider opening health care contract to other providers like St. Mary's

Sam Gross | Reno Gazette-Journal

The Washoe County school board may open bidding for the district’s multi-million-dollar healthcare contract, school officials confirmed Wednesday.

The contract has been a point of conflict between the district and local healthcare provider Saint Mary’s Medical Group, which has said it was unfairly excluded from the bidding process — potentially at the expense of the district’s employees.

District spokesperson Victoria Campbell confirmed to the Reno Gazette Journal Wednesday afternoon that staff members are crafting a request for proposals that will appear on Tuesday's school board agenda.

Campbell could provide little detail about the request for proposals, but confirmed that it would open the bidding process to all qualified healthcare providers, including Saint Mary’s, if approved by the school board.

More detailed information about the request for proposals will be available Thursday when the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is released.

The current proposal being weighed by the school board is an exclusive 3-year contract with Renown Health and its insurance arm Hometown Health, the district’s current health care provider. That plan would raise the cost of health insurance premiums by 10 percent in 2019.

The district's health care fund, an account fed by employee-paid premiums and contributions from the district, has been struggling to keep up with rising health care costs, which prompted the need for a premium hike.

The district is "self-insured" as opposed to "fully-insured," which means it is responsible for paying claims and other health care-associated costs of its employees.

But the Saint Mary’s Medical Group, which operates the Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in downtown Reno and other health facilities, said it can offer comparative medical care for a lower price and has been aggressively lobbying the district for the chance to submit a proposal.

Until Wednesday, it appeared the school district would not consider Saint Mary’s proposal.

“It’s really great news for Saint Mary’s and it’s even better news for the school district and their employees,” said Saint Mary’s Health Network CEO Helen Lidholm.

The contract currently held by Renown is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2018 and open enrollment for district employees is scheduled for September.

It's unclear if the move to accept other healthcare proposals comes too late to curb potential premium increases for 2019.

*Correction: The CEO of Saint Mary's Health Network was misidentified in a previous version of this story. Her name is Helen Lidholm.