Primary Department: Purchasing
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Kimberly J. Williams, JD
Secondary Department: Human Resources and Talent
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Andrea Coughlin Rowley
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Amendment
Project ID (if applicable): 210443
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): The Segal Company (Southeast), Inc. d/b/a Segal
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): 20%
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): 33.3%
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal is not 0% and is listed above
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request that the County Judge execute an amendment to an agreement with The Segal Company (Southeast), Inc. d/b/a Segal in the additional amount of $42,500 for additional benefits consulting services for Harris County for the period of June 28, 2026 - June 27, 2027 (210443), MWBE Contracted Goal: 20%, MWBE Current Participation: 33.3%.
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Background and Discussion:
Human Resources and Talent recommends amending the County’s agreement with The Segal Company (Southeast) d/b/a Segal to conduct an Assessment of Medical Provider Pricing. The assessment will evaluate the relative pricing competitiveness of Harris County’s current medical provider network using the County’s historical claims utilization and publicly available Transparency in Coverage data. The analysis will compare current negotiated provider pricing against other available medical networks and identify areas where reimbursement rates may vary from market benchmarks.
As part of the assessment, Segal will evaluate network competitiveness by geographic market, key providers, medical service category, and site of care; reprice historical claims to Medicare reimbursement levels; and evaluate the potential financial impact of alternative network solutions. The final deliverables will include an assessment of current network competitiveness, provider- and service-level comparisons, and recommendations regarding network strategy.
This work will occur concurrently with the County’s accelerated procurement for Medical, Prescription Drug, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Stop Loss, and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) services, which is proceeding one year earlier pursuant to direction provided by Commissioners Court at its September 17, 2026 session. Because the market assessment is expected to be completed within approximately four to six weeks following receipt and validation of required data, findings may provide early market intelligence and additional insight to inform development and evaluation of the RFP while the procurement process is underway.
Expected Impact:
The assessment will provide Harris County with an independent, data-driven evaluation of whether the current medical provider network offers competitive pricing based on the County’s actual utilization patterns. The analysis will provide greater visibility into provider reimbursement levels, geographic and service-specific pricing differences, and the potential financial impact of alternative network arrangements. Exhibit A- SOW
Conducting the assessment concurrently with the Medical/Rx/EAP/Stop Loss/FSA procurement may also strengthen the County’s understanding of the medical network marketplace as the RFP progresses. Findings may help identify areas warranting additional consideration during procurement, including network pricing, provider contracting, and opportunities to manage future medical plan cost growth while maintaining appropriate access to care.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court could elect not to approve the amendment. In that event, the County could proceed with the Medical/Rx/EAP/Stop Loss/FSA procurement without the additional medical provider pricing assessment. However, the County would not have the benefit of Segal’s independent analysis comparing the current network’s provider reimbursement levels to available competing networks using Harris County’s historical utilization patterns and Transparency in Coverage data. Exhibit A- SOW
The County could also defer the assessment until after completion of the procurement; however, doing so would limit the opportunity to use the findings as supplemental market intelligence during development and evaluation of the accelerated RFP.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any): N/A
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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01/04/2022 |
218 |
Advertisement Approval |
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6/28/2022 |
209 |
Award Approval |
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11/15/2022 |
278 |
Amendment No.1 Approval |
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04/25/2023 |
211 |
Renewal No.1 Approval |
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02/27/2024 |
279 |
Renewal No.2 Approval |
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12/10/2024 |
369 |
Amendment No. 2 Approval |
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5/08/2025 |
280 |
Renewal No.3 Approval |
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6/11/2026 |
302 |
Amendment No.3 Approval |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Existing Budget |
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Other |
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$42,500 |
$42,500 |
$846,400 |
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$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
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$42,500 |
$42,500 |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
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Total Funding Sources |
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$42,500 |
$42,500 |
$846,500 |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
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$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
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Anticipated Court Date: 10/15/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Sarah Acosta, Director, Benefits & Wellness, Human Resources and Talent; Gisselle Zapata, Sr. Contract Manager, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Amendment