Governor signs bill to put teachers on state health insurance

At a teacher appreciation rally at Melba Elementary School Tuesday, Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 443 into law, his “Leading Idaho” teacher health insurance bill that seeks to extend better health insurance benefits to teachers across Idaho.

“This investment means Idaho’s teachers will be able to access better health benefits to keep themselves and their families safe and healthy. It means teachers will be able to keep more of what they earn,” Little said.

The bill creates a fund for school districts that voluntarily choose to join the state’s health plan and it puts the state on a path to increase the state’s ongoing contribution for teacher health insurance premiums by approximately $4,000 per teacher, ensuring school districts have the resources necessary to expand family coverage and lower out-of-pocket costs for teachers.

“I want to thank my partners in the Legislature for passing this important bill. They acknowledge the important role teachers play in partnering with parents and families in the education of our children, our future workforce,” the governor said.

The bill was led by Reps. Rod Furniss and Wendy Horman and Sen. Jim Woodward. It received strong support from Idaho education stakeholders.

Little’s Leading Idaho plan also includes up to 10 percent pay increases for Idaho teachers and $1,000 bonuses.

“We cannot meet our commitment to students without supporting the people who teach them in the classroom. If you’re running a business, you know you can only attract and retain dedicated, quality workers by paying them competitively, offering good benefits, and making them feel valued. Our educator work force is no different,” Little said.

Senate Education Committee members said the bill is needed to help the state hire and retain teachers and other school workers by reducing premiums and lowering deductibles. Backers said it could reduce reliance on school levies some school districts use that can raise property taxes.

“I believe our state is better benefitted by the passage of this bill, and I believe it will help us attract and retain the best teachers at a very challenging time in education,” said Idaho Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron, a former Republican state senator. “I believe it will benefit the state economically as our teachers are more adequately funded. I believe as a society we are better when more people are insured.”

The bill is not a budget bill, and it doesn’t allocate any money. Instead, it creates a dedicated fund, called the public school health insurance participation fund, that would hold money needed for public schools to buy into the state’s medical and dental group insurance plan. Two budget bills containing financing are expected if the initial bill becomes law. One of those would be a one-time appropriation of $75.5 million needed if all schools opted to enter into the state employment plan. The other bill involves an ongoing $105 million in Gov. Brad Little’s proposed budget in general fund money to school districts to help cover employee health insurance costs. That would increase the $8,400 schools get per employee to $12,500, the level the state pays for its employees for health insurance.

The bill “is one component of a three-part plan in an effort to improve the health care benefit offered to public school employees,” said Woodward. “The motivation for the effort is to make our Idaho schools more competitive in recruiting and retaining teachers and support staff.”

Money approved for the plan would have to first go through the Legislature’s budget-setting committee and then be approved by the House and Senate.

It’s possible some school districts could stick with their insurers. Any money put into the fund, according to the legislation, can’t be spent before July 1 or after June 30, 2024, giving school districts a two-year window to make a decision. Lawmakers could opt to change that later, however. Any money left in the dedicated fund by its expiration would go to the public education stabilization fund or, if that’s full, to the state’s general fund.

The National Education Association estimated that for the 2019-2020 school year, the average national classroom teacher salary was $65,000. Idaho ranked 39th with an average salary of just under $53,000 and 35th in average starting salary at $38,000.