Employee Health and Benefits Reform: Affordability, Access, and a Voice Before the Vote

• I would propose a standing Employee Health and Benefits Advisory Committee with peer-selected classroom teachers and representation from paraprofessional, auxiliary, and finance staff. Quarterly meetings would occur early enough to inform benefits and procurement recommendations, not only after a finished package is presented.
• I would request a combined compensation and healthcare impact report covering beginning and experienced teachers and every coverage tier. It would distinguish recurring salary from one-time payments and show retirement contributions and employee premiums, with taxes and other deductions clearly identified as assumptions rather than a universal take-home figure.
• I would seek independent review of pharmacy rebates, spread pricing where applicable, administration fees, stop-loss coverage, network value, and 90-day or mail-order prescription options. Contract terms and actual costs would be examined, not presumed improper.
• I would ask for a priced comparison of fourth-quarter deductible credits, reduced cost-sharing for eligible diagnostic breast imaging, continuity-of-care support during network changes, and calendar-year versus school/fiscal-year coverage. None would be presented as an automatic entitlement or a guaranteed solution.
• I would request dependent-tier contribution scenarios, including an illustrative additional $75 or $150 per enrolled employee per month. These are proposed modeling amounts, not existing benefits or funded commitments. That equals $900 or $1,800 per employee per year before other costs, multiplied by eligible enrollment. Recurring funding must be identified before any vote.
• I would ask administration to evaluate negotiated bundled pricing and care-navigation support where clinically appropriate, including high-cost care. Any claimed savings would need independent support and protections for access and quality.

• Texas Education Code §§ 11.051 and 11.151 place governance authority with the Board collectively. An individual trustee may propose review and seek support, but cannot independently direct employees, vendors, spending, or plan changes.
• Advisory-committee design would be reviewed against Katy ISD BDF (LOCAL) and applicable Board procedures. The committee would advise, not vote for trustees, adjudicate claims, or negotiate contracts independently.
• Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1356 and HB 170 (86th Legislature, 2019) provide the relevant diagnostic breast imaging framework. Benefits counsel would determine applicability and required coverage before recommending plan changes. The supplied HB 109 citation is not the breast imaging enactment.
• HSA and HDHP options must satisfy federal tax requirements. IRS Publication 969 and Notice 2024-75 would inform review of pre-deductible breast screening coverage and any proposed deductible credit; no blanket exemption for diagnostic imaging or biopsies is assumed.
• Public reporting must use aggregate information and protect employee medical and personnel privacy. A public-employer plan's legal status should be confirmed rather than equated with private ERISA coverage.

In my first 100 days, I would bring forward requests for the current plan documents, rate sheets, enrollment by coverage tier, claims and reserve trends, contract terms, and existing employee-feedback procedures. I would seek support for the committee and independent review, then ask for costed options at the next feasible benefits and budget cycle. I would publish the assumptions, explain my vote, and monitor affordability, access, employee feedback, and actual results after any approved change. I would not promise a fixed implementation date before contracts and enrollment deadlines are known.

This is a proposal, not an adopted benefit or a promise that a particular medical claim will be paid. It does not guarantee free diagnostic imaging, a deductible rollover, premium reductions, or savings sufficient to fund family contributions. A changed plan year moves a reset date; it does not eliminate deductibles. The advisory committee would not access individual medical records, replace the administrator's claim process, or control procurement. The proposed $75 and $150 monthly modeling amounts have no current funding commitment.