Insurance premium increase likely for Lafayette Parish public school teachers, retirees

Lafayette Parish School System teachers and retirees will likely see their health insurance premiums increase in July to offset a projected 3.2% deficit that the self-funded insurance is facing.

The Employee/Retiree Insurance Advisory Committee recommended to the school board that premiums increase by 4%. It made the recommendation after hearing from the district's insurance brokers during its March 14 meeting.

The school board voted in its Wednesday night budget meeting to accept the recommendation. The budget, and that decision, won't be confirmed and adopted until May 10.

The 4% change would mean, depending on the type of plan an employee is enrolled in and the number of beneficiaries covered, that monthly premiums would increase pre-tax between 70 cents to $30.74.

In addition to increasing the monthly premiums, the committee recommended the district engage in a patient assistance program that would help individuals with prescription drug costs, potentially saving the district about $500,000 a year.

The program wouldn't be disruptive to beneficiaries and wouldn't try to change their prescription, the brokers told the committee.

The projected 3.2% budget deficit, which is about $2.4 million, was caused by several factors, including rising healthcare costs and inflation.

But the largest contributor was a sharp increase in claim costs in 2022, with some beneficiaries needing extraordinary and unforeseen care at the end of the year, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Matthew Dugas told the committee.

Dugas said that the district typically pays about $600,000 per week in claims. But there was at least one week in 2022 when the district paid about $1 million in claims.

The recommendation to the school board did not come without resistance. Committee member Carole Broussard raised concerns about retirees who are on a fixed income and may struggle with an increase to any part of their health benefits. She was the only dissenting vote against the recommendation.

The committee also discussed increasing deductibles but said it would hold off on making any recommendation until it could see if the patient assistance program and increase in premiums would offset the projected deficit.