North Scott School District employees to see higher health insurance costs

North Scott Community School District staff members will see increased costs to their health insurance this year.

The school board on Monday approved the increase in premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

By April 1, staff members on single coverage will see an increase of $550, or 46%, to their current in-network deductible to $1,750. Staff members on a family coverage will also see an increase of $1,125, or 47%, to $3,500. Out-of-pocket maximums will increase by $125 to $3,000 for single coverage and by $250 to $6,000 for family coverage.

By Sept. 1, monthly premiums will see an increase of $15 for single and $30 for family plans. The new premiums for single and family are $65 and $200, respectively.

This comes as multiple surveys and reports showed employer health care costs expected to go up between 6.5% to 9.5% this year.

In addition, the Iowa Legislature passed, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed, a bill increasing state funding for K-12 districts by 2% next fiscal year, which many advocates said would not be adequate to meet rising costs.

To avoid a larger increase in premiums, the district added to the deductible. Superintendent Joe Stutting said only 20% to 25% of staff reach the deductible.

"Nobody's going to be happy with an increased cost," Stutting said. "But they also understand, at a 2% SSA, declining enrollment ... a budget's a budget. We talked about that all the time. You got to live within your budget. And there's certain parts we don't get to control. Our budget, it's really given to us by the state based off of the formula, and you work within that means, and that's what we're doing."

The plan to raise costs was done with feedback from a committee that included representatives from the district, union and other staff.

"Our staff still values having options and having the Blue Cross Blue Shield, doctors and stuff that they can go to," Stutting said. "We can go to Mayo. We can go to Iowa City. That's all within network. I know you know you can save as you restrict further and further, but people still value those things, and know that it's going to cost to be able to have those things too."