After employee medical costs drove a $51 million budget shortfall, the city of Dallas is preparing to tighten its belt in ways that could significantly alter employee health plans.
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council reviewed a proposed change to how the city provides medical benefits to its employees. The proposal would eliminate the copay insurance plan, strip GLP-1 coverage for employees using the medication for weight loss and, as city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert reiterated time and again during the briefing, save the city money.
Dallas is currently in the midst of a difficult budgetary season that officials have warned will lead to tough choices before the final draft goes into effect on Oct. 1. Property and sales tax revenues aren’t keeping pace with costs, and employees have been asked to bear the brunt of many preliminary proposals as council members push back on cuts elsewhere…