Primary Department: Purchasing
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Kimberly J. Williams, JD
Secondary Department: Flood Control District
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Tina Petersen
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Amendment
Project ID (if applicable): 230107
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Aetna Life Insurance Company
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): 10%
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal is not 0% and is listed above
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request that the County Judge execute an amendment to an agreement with Aetna Life Insurance Company to add certain documents to the agreement for group medical (including Prescription Drug Program and Stop Loss Coverage, Employee Assistance Program and Flexible Spending Accounts) for Harris County and the Flood Control District for the period of January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026, with no increase in the total contract amount (230107), MWBE Contracted Goal: 10%.
end
Background and Discussion:
On August 14, 2025, Commissioners Court approved the implementation of Aetna’s fully insured Medicare Part D plan, SilverScript, to provide savings to the county’s health plan for FY 2026. This request is a follow up to amend the agreement with Aetna and incorporate the necessary documents for the Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP), the Medicare Part D SilverScript plan, as well as an updated Pharmacy Service and Fee Schedule for the CVS commercial pharmacy plan.
Expected Impact:
Harris County’s benefits consultant, Segal, projected $9M in annual savings with the implementation of the EGWP SilverScript plan. Per OMB/Risk Management’s Finance team, the long-term impact is significant, projected to be a $479M savings to the County’s OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) liability. The current liability to fund retiree healthcare is $3.9 billion. Working to lower this helps the County to continue providing health insurance to current and future retirees.
The updated Pharmacy Service and Fee Schedule revises and tightens contractual fees, discounts and guarantees for our existing agreement with CVS/Aetna.
Alternative Options:
N/A
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):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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8/8/23 |
371 |
Award |
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11/14/23 |
303 |
Agreement Approved |
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10/8/24 |
266 |
Renewal No. 1 |
|
08/7/25 |
319 |
Renewal No. 2 |
Location: N/A
Address (if applicable): Multiple
Precinct(s): Countywide
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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Anticipated Court Date: 3/19/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 2/1/2026
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; Jeremy Woodard, Senior Sourcing Manager, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Amendment