Retired Olathe police and fire employees say rising health premiums are making coverage increasingly difficult to afford, with some reporting cost increases of 500% to 900% for 2026. The city says it is not required to contribute to retirees’ health insurance. It has reduced its contribution to 50% for certain individual plans, while Wessling says the subsidy for his plan will end in 2027.
Retired Olathe police sergeant Brian Wessling, who first contacted KSHB 41 about the issue last fall, says his employee-only plan cost about $250 a month in 2026. He expects to pay $529 a month for the same plan in 2027, when he says his city subsidy will end. Wessling told the station he felt betrayed and had expected the increases to eventually stop.
Wessling and other city retirees and employees plan to raise their concerns at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. He says the changes could affect the city’s ability to attract future employees. According to the station’s report, retirees had been told that strong benefits helped offset Olathe police salaries that were not the highest in Johnson County, and some expected those benefits to last until age 65.
A Subsidy Winding Down
The city introduced a one-year, $250 monthly stipend for retirees during the 2025 benefit election period. Retiree coverage options changed again for 2026.
What the available records establish
The available account describes the $250 monthly stipend as a temporary measure, not as a settled contribution schedule for 2025 through 2027. KSHB 41 reported that city officials announced the stipend for certain plans at a Nov. 14 open-enrollment session. That account does not identify a complete set of adopted council actions or benefits documents specifying contributions for every year, plan tier or retiree group. The City of Overland Park says its retiree health and dental insurance is based on years of service. That separate program does not establish its premiums or employer contributions, or show how its coverage compares with Olathe’s.
Retired Olathe Fire Department deputy chief Todd Hart has also criticized the increases, according to the station’s report. The dispute follows testimony at a November 2025 Olathe City Council meeting: former Olathe Police Chief Steve Menke said his annual retiree health insurance premium would rise from $22,250 to $31,639 for 2026, a 42% increase, after the city reduced its employer contribution, according to the Johnson County Post. Retired firefighter Gary Nickerson said his individual monthly premium would increase by $800 after the city eliminated its employer subsidy for his plan tier, and that the cost might force him back into full-time work.
What The City Says
A city spokesperson said health care costs are rising nationwide and that Olathe is adjusting its retiree health premium contribution to address a projected structural imbalance and growing operating deficits.
Olathe is required to extend health care coverage to retirees under Kansas statute, and may charge up to 125% of the full premium per year for that coverage. Under K.S.A. 12-5040, municipalities that offer group health plans must make coverage available to retirees who served at least 10 cumulative years; coverage may cease when a retiree turns 65, fails to make timely premium payments, or becomes covered or eligible to be covered under another employer’s plan, according to the Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. The law sets 125% of the active employee premium as the ceiling cities may charge.
The Numbers Behind The Trust
Olathe's retiree medical reimbursements have flowed through the City of Olathe Kansas VEBA Health Savings Trust, a tax-exempt entity. In fiscal year 2024, the trust distributed $1,263,408 in medical expense reimbursements to roughly 1,410 participants.
The premium changes arrive as Olathe City Manager Susan Sherman has proposed a $468.5 million budget for fiscal year 2027 that keeps property tax rates flat while warning that rising operating expenses and inflation require sacrifices across city operations, the Johnson County Post reported.
Retirees also have benefit enrollment options to navigate.
