By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
There are no easy answers anymore when it comes to the Burlington Area School District insurance situation.
Facing an premium increase of 16.9 percent this year due to a number of high-cost users, the School Board choose the option of raising the base plan to a $4,000 deductible for single users and $8,000 for families, with no co-insurance payments.
The buy-up plan would lower that deductible to $2,000 for single coverage and $4,000 for families, but require a premium contribution of $780 a year for single coverage and $2,150 for family coverage.
The insurance will be offered through the WEA Trust – the only company that provided the district a bid this year.
All of the options on the table included at least the current $3,000/$6,000 deductible on the base plan, with some options including co-insurance, others higher deductibles, one with a higher deductible with the district contributing toward an employee health savings account to try and alleviate the cost and sticking with the $3,000/$6,000 base but having employees cover their own costs for life, dental and long-term disability.
The possible option of a high deductible plan with the district contributing to an employee health savings account and the option of making life, dental and long-term disability insurance optional with the employee paying were suggestions made at the April 25 meeting. However, both ideas were shot down Monday night.
The HSA option had too much risk to the district, while making employees pay for more benefits struck board members Rosanne Hahn and Barry Schmaling as wrong.
“They’re going to see ‘I’m losing something,’” Schmaling said. “That’s going to be a morale decrease.”
Hahn added, “I’ll never agree to that.”
School Board Vice President Bill Campbell said teachers had negotiated for benefits ahead of pay raises for years, and he believes teachers would want to continue that way.
Board President Jim Bousman said, however, that the district’s “experience” – the high-cost patients making the insurance company lose money on them – has essentially priced the district out of the market.
Schmaling said, “There’s no easy fix.”
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Ummmm, why only bids from WEA? Maybe I would have shopped around, but what do I know..
From the story the week before:
Due to a number of high-cost users on the insurance plan, the district was initially looking at a more than 30 percent increase from the WEA trust. BASD’s insurance agent, M3, negotiated that increase down to 16.9 percent, and solicited bids from other companies. Those companies, however, declined to get involved.