DOVER — On Thursday, April 2, 2026, the Dover School Board approved a one-year contract with HUB International and Cigna Healthcare to provide fully insured health coverage services to District employees and retirees beginning July 1, 2026, ending the district’s relationship with SchoolCare on June 30. The HUB International plans mirror the current plans being offered to District employees, and employees are not expected to see any decrease in benefits.
Dozens of New Hampshire school districts, including Dover, access health coverage benefits through a governmental risk pool. These districts pool their risks together in a governmental risk pool, such as SchoolCare, who collects premiums from the districts and pays covered claims through a third-party administrator (Cigna). Governmental risk pools resemble insurance in many ways, charging quoted premiums annually for a health plan covering employees and retirees based in part on past claims experience and administrative costs of running the risk pool.
The District sought requests for proposals in October 2025, with seven providers responding. Five of the seven did not meet the requirements outlined in the RFP. The two remaining proposals, along with a potential renewal of SchoolCare’s contract, were closely reviewed by District administration.
The administration recommended HUB International based on numerous criteria, including benefit value, access to services equal to those currently offered by SchoolCare, long-term financial viability, and overall cost.
The HUB International proposal is expected to reduce health insurance costs by one percent in the 2026-2027 school year. Other options that were reviewed contained significant increases in premiums and costs to the District. The fully insured HUB plan will also avoid unanticipated coverage threats.
The District harbored concerns about SchoolCare’s future, given its recent past financial difficulties, declining responsiveness and service levels, and certain hiring freezes reported in SchoolCare’s audited financial statements for the year ending June 30, 2025. The District’s motion to leave SchoolCare also called out SchoolCare’s unlawful, time-based threats to stop paying covered claims as of May 1, despite premiums being paid.
The District will ensure there is no interruption of benefits or services to employees during this transition. Following Thursday’s vote, the Board directed the Superintendent to meet with District bargaining teams as soon as possible to discuss the details of the new plans and address any concerns surrounding the transition.
In addition to providing excellent instruction to its students, the Dover School District is one of the largest employers in the City, and provision of quality health insurance to District employees is a priority. By selecting a high-quality, fully-insured, mirrored health care plan, which will not involve surprise and express threats to stop paying covered claims such as SchoolCare’s current threat, the School Board and District are reaffirming their commitment to provide stable, quality health benefits to employees.
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