Dover Schools seek relief in court for lapse in coverage

Dover School District asked a judge Monday to compel the insurance organization SchoolCare to continue paying their health claims, as the public-sector risk pool stated it would discontinue their coverage in May over the district’s unpaid $1.7 million bill.

The dispute could affect 380 people currently employed by the district, 113 retired employees and many of their spouses and children, a news release from the district said.

Last week, the Dover School Board voted not to renew their contract with SchoolCare for the next school year, citing the “unlawful assessment and coercive time-based threats of nonperformance” if they refused to pay.

They plan to switch to HUB International, a Chicago-based insurance brokerage. But that contract doesn’t start until July, leaving school employees with a potential two-month gap in their health coverage.

District officials asked a Strafford County Superior Court judge to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on SchoolCare that would force the risk pool to continue providing coverage through the end of the contracted period, June 30.

“Those covered by SchoolCare would be unduly hindered in their ability to access timely and effective health care services, prescription drugs, preventive care and treatment for existing serious health issues if SchoolCare does not honor its contract,” district representatives said Tuesday.

Dover School District Superintendent Christine Boston has also filed a separate request for a jury trial, asserting that her rights were violated in a breach of contract, the release says. She’s being represented by Anthony Carr of Shaheen & Gordon, P.A., a Dover-based firm.

Boston is filing the request as a school employee who would be directly affected by SchoolCare not paying her health claims.

The district was one of many schools and municipalities to receive a one-time assessment fee from SchoolCare in October, to raise an additional $30 million, avert a $4.5 million deficit in the risk pool and replenish its reserves.

Dover School District received the third-largest assessment at $1.7 million and is the only member that hasn’t paid or agreed to pay. At last week’s meeting, the School Board said they have “insufficient funds appropriated at this time” to cover the unexpected cost.

District representatives said the request is unlawful because its agreement with SchoolCare does not authorize the risk pool to issue assessment to its members. The district also maintains SchoolCare’s financial situation was “self-inflicted” and avoidable in a Tuesday statement.

Dover Schools Human Resources Director Kimberly Cox said last week that SchoolCare did not adjust its premiums or maintain sufficient reserves to deal with rising health insurance costs.

SchoolCare and other public-sector risk pools have their reserves limited by the secretary of state. The Legislature is reviewing bills allowing them to hold higher reserves more aligned with private insurance groups, with one allowing them to be regulated by the state Department of Insurance instead.

These bills are partially a response to SchoolCare’s $30 million assessment, which contributed to school employee layoffs and local tax increases in communities such as Concord.

Another SchoolCare member — the city of Portsmouth, which uses SchoolCare for its School Deparment — resisted the assessment until mid-March, with the City Council only agreeing to pay “under protest.”

Portsmouth officials said their $1.57 million assessment was issued in the middle of the budget cycle and left them with “limited options to absorb an unplanned and significant cost.”

zmarano@unionleader.com

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