Latest options have staff members paying up to 10 percent of premiums
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
The Burlington Area School District’s Personnel Committee will review health insurance options that could require staff members to pay a greater portion of the premium cost at a special meeting scheduled for Monday, May 20.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the district office, 100 E. Kane Street.
The committee had been scheduled to review the numbers a week ago, but the various quotes arrived too late for school district staff to develop a recommendation for consideration at the meeting.
“We’re not prepared to make a recommendation at this time,” said BASD Superintendent Peter Smet said at the May 13 meeting.
Insurance advisor Dan Martin was asked a week earlier to provide adjusted numbers that would have employees bear more of the cost of their health insurance in an effort to save the district money, but the information came back too late for the May 13 meeting.
The information does offer some options, Smet said, but he needed more time to put together a recommendation.
Earlier this month, School Board member Roger Koldeway asked Martin to go back to the companies that had bid for the district’s health insurance coverage and ask for numbers if employees were required to pay 10 percent of their out-of-pocket costs for in-network providers (vs. 100 percent coverage in network) and also see what savings could be offered by setting the out-of-pocket maximum above the deductible.
Martin came back with three different sets of numbers for three different companies – Humana (the district’s current insurance provider), Anthem and the Wisconsin Counties Association Group Health Trust.
With Humana offering to hold the rates the same as last year after bidding proved competitive, the cost for the district to renew with Humana would be $392,747 for the high-deductible health savings account plan. That held the deductible at $1,500 for an individual and $3,000 for a family in network, and would keep the maximum out of pocket at that amount as well.
It also assumed the in-network coinsurance would cover at 100 percent.
The change requested would reduce in-network co-insurance to 90 percent, and increase the out-of-pocket maximum to $500 beyond the deductible for individuals and $1,000 for families for one option, and $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for families on a third option.
The PPO option would continue to be offered with no changes, but district employees would have to pay the difference in premium costs between the HSA and PPO plans.
The savings for the first option (90 percent co-insurance in network, $500/$1,000 out-of-pocket increases) would save the district about $13,300 a month with Humana, about $20,300 a month with Anthem and about $10,000 a month with the WCAGHT.
With the third option (90 percent coinsurance, $1,000/$2,000 out-of-pocket increase), the district would only realize about $3,000 more a month in savings from Humana, about $5,500 more with Anthem and about $6,000 with WCAGHT.
The WCAGHT plan guarantees the second year will be no more than a 12 percent increase, while the other two plans will base that guarantee off of a loss ratio.
A few other details would have to be worked out. Anthem does not offer a COBRA option, so the district would have to issue mandatory notifications and hire a third-party provider. The district would also have to finalize who is in network with the various plans.
Koldeway said he wanted to see what the impact would be on employees. One employee in attendance, Burlington High School teacher Karen Brennemann, offered a simple answer.
“While you can say it’s a savings, it’s a transfer of costs to the employees,” she said.
“That is correct,” said BASD Superintendent Peter Smet.
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