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Bozeman Public Schools Conditionally Approves Joining Statewide Bridged Health Alliance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bozeman, MT – December 9, 2025 – Bozeman Public Schools is taking a significant step towards stabilizing healthcare costs and enhancing benefits for its employees. Last night, the Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to join the Bridged Health Alliance, a new statewide health insurance trust designed specifically for Montana public schools, subject to certain restrictions. The decision aligns with the unanimous recommendation from the district's insurance committee and administration.

A New Era for Health Coverage

The Bridged Health Alliance https://bridgedmt.org, established through the Montana Legislature's passage of HB332 in 2023, aims to empower Montana public school systems by offering higher-quality, lower-cost health, wellness, and pharmaceutical benefits. Bridged is focused on accomplishing four important goals: year-over-year renewal stability for schools; lower fixed costs via buying power in a large pool; improving the overall health and wellness of Montana school employees; and maximizing returns on the MT Legislature’s $40 million dollar investment in the trust to the benefit of schools and employees.

Bozeman Public Schools, which has operated a self-funded medical insurance plan since 1990, will join the "Skyline Tier" of the Alliance. This tier is designed for larger districts like Bozeman, allowing them to maintain their self-funded structure, retain local control over their benefit design, and still leverage the substantial savings in administrative and claim costs afforded by the Alliance's size and scale.

Stakeholder Endorsement and Financial Stability

The move has strong support from district employees. Eric Matthews, President of the Bozeman Education Association (BEA), shared his enthusiasm for the collaboration:

"The Bozeman Education Association is happy to be a partner with the Bozeman School District in recommending to the Board of Trustees that we join Bridged Health Alliance. This is a moment in time where we have the chance to be part of a statewide insurance pool that will help stabilize costs for participants, is not profit driven, and has the backing of the state legislature with seed money to help ensure success."

District administration and the insurance committee believe joining Bridged will reduce overall risk to the District’s Self-Insurance plan and help moderate future claims cost increases, which have averaged 8.6% annually over the last decade. A key component of this anticipated moderation comes from the Alliance's plan to negotiate hospital contracts based on a percent-of-Medicare model rather than a traditional network discount model.

Conditional Approval for Due Diligence

The Board's approval is conditional, meaning the Administration must receive satisfactory confirmation and documentation before formally joining the Alliance effective September 1, 2026. The contingencies, which must be met by March 31, 2026, are critical to protecting the District's financial interests and ensuring the Alliance's compliance:

1. Contract Confirmation: Written confirmation from Allegiance (Bridged’s Third Party Administrator) that Bozeman area contracts are in place, capping provider reimbursements and annual increases at a reasonable, mutually agreed-upon Multiple of Medicare ceiling for the contract's duration.
2. Self-Funded Documentation: Receipt of necessary documentation from Bridged that accurately describes the self-funded relationship and is consistent with representations made to the District's teams.
3. Trust Qualification: Documentation proving that Bridged has successfully met all Trust formation requirements specified in HB332, qualified the Trust with the State Auditor's Office, and been approved for the $40 million transfer from the Montana State General Fund.

If any of these three conditions are not met by the deadline, the conditional approval will expire, requiring the Board to take additional action to proceed. Under HB332, districts that join the trust must participate for a minimum of five consecutive school fiscal years.

Respectfully,

Casey Bertram, Superintendent