IS THERE AN INSURANCEGATE BREWING IN CAMERON COUNTY: WHY DID COMMISSIONERS ESCHEW $500,000 IN SAVINGS?

By Juan Montoya
There have been some general stories in the local press concerning the sudden departure of former Cameron County Human Resources Administrator Arnold Flores and the commissioners' renewal of its employees health insurance coverage with the Texas Association of Counties.
Generally, they gel around the opposition by Pct. 3 Commissioner David Garza and County Judge Pete Sepulveda to follow a consultant's advice on getting lower rates for the county's 1,600 employees.
No one, including Flores, Garza or Sepulveda will comment on the decision to drop both the consultant – Nick Long of Gallagher Benefits Services – and his recommendations based on his claims that he had already negotiated savings of up to 30 percent per employee.
The only documented reason for the move by Garza to drop Gallagher was reported in the local daily as stating that he did not believe the claims.
The TAC has serviced the county's health coverage needs since 2008 and this year Flores had gone out for Requests For Proposals. Consultant Long said that he had contacted 21 providers, 11 of which had indicated a desire to submit their proposals.
According to Long's estimates, in his negotiations with TAC, he had already negotiated at least $500,000 in savings using then other firms' interest in the contract as leverage.
At approximately a $1,152,000 annual cost, at the 30 percent reduction in cost per employee – or about 6 to 8 percent of the total cost – TAC had agreed to reduce the cost by $500,000.
With the consultant's services terminated by the vote of the court led by Garza, TAC will no longer have to abide by the reductions in its renewal, a hope held out by Sepulveda, who also voted to terminate Long and Gallagher Services.

"The TAC is no longer obligated to honor the concessions it granted in the negotiations with the consultant," said a county staffer. "They can simply renew and consider the county's request."
Sepulveda told the commissioners during the meeting that the county "was eyeing" some options within the TAC that could generate some savings, but nothing specific was mentioned.
No one is saying why Garza was so interested in staying with TAC, or for that matter why Sepulveda turned down the savings since Long was not getting paid for his services. Under the agreement with the county, Long's Gallagher Services was to be paid through its provision of ancillary services such as electronic enrollment, something that the county cannot afford.
Now that the county is limiting its options to the TAC, rumors are surfacing of possible personal relationships between Sepulveda and Garza and TAC personnel that might have influenced their decision to forgo the savings.
The fact that Garza is a pharmacist apparently made an impression in Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez, who voted along with him.
The only vote not to terminate the relationship with Long and Gallagher Benefits Service was cast by Pct. 2 commissioner Alex Dominguez.