Elkhart School Board to consider tentative teacher contract, health insurance changes

Oct. 26--ELKHART -- As Elkhart Community Schools teachers continue to ask for better pay, they could soon see a double-digit increase in health insurance premiums.

The Elkhart School Board will consider changes to the district's health and dental insurance extended benefits at its regular meeting Tuesday. At that same meeting, members will consider a new teacher contract after negotiations stalled over teacher pay.

Details of that new contract -- including what kind of raises teachers will receive, if any -- will not be made public until Tuesday, when the agreement is brought before the board. The recommendations for health and dental policy changes were published ahead of time, however.

An Insurance Committee was formed last spring to examine current medical and dental benefits and explore new options. While the district currently uses Anthem as its health insurance provider, the committee recommended switching to UnitedHealthcare.

Although the switch would mean a 10.8 percent increase in premium costs, the committee "has confidence in the ability of UnitedHealthcare to provide ECS staff with high-quality customer service," according to the recommendation from Doug Hasler, executive director of support services.

Although the district has self-funded its dental plan for about 15 years, the committee also recommended moving to MetLife for dental plan administration. If the district were to continue with its current plan, dental premiums would increase by about 4.7 percent. With MetLife, however, premiums would fall 2.6 percent. Under the MetLife proposal, the annual maximum benefit would increase from $1,000 to $1,250.

The committee also recommended changing eligibility guidelines for extended benefits. While employees who work at least 20 hours per week are currently eligible for extended benefits, the committee recommended increasing that to 30 hours per week to align with federal standards outlined in the Affordable Care Act.

Hasler said a relatively small number of eligible employees who work between 20 and 30 hours per week -- mostly food service and transportation employees -- currently purchase plans through the district. Additionally, comparable plans are now available through the insurance market.

The committee also investigated the option of adding a "spousal carve-out" clause into the insurance policy, which means that an employee's spouse would not be eligible for coverage under the district's plan if his or her own employer offers extended benefits.

Although Hasler said it would be difficult to determine the exact cost savings that would accompany a spousal carve-out option, he said if 10 percent of spouses were required to drop their coverage through Elkhart schools, the district would save about $46,000. However, family coverage would increase by 42 percent to 80 percent under the new structure with the spousal carve-out option.

"Balancing the modest savings from spousal carve-out with the significant impact of premium increases on those employees with family coverage, the Insurance Committee decided not to make a recommendation on spousal carve-out," Hasler wrote in a memo to the Elkhart School Board.

Members will consider approving the recommendations Tuesday before voting on a new teachers contract. At the board's last meeting, about 100 teachers showed up to ask for "fair pay" for teachers, saying that take-home pay has decreased over the years as health insurance costs increase.

The Elkhart School Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the J.C. Rice Educational Services Center, 2720 California Road.

Follow education reporter Michelle Sokol on Twitter at @michelle_sokol.

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