[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Health Care Crisis in District 281?

[Email subscription to blog articles]

Posted by Speed Gibson:
Health Care Crisis in District 281?
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1195715285.shtml


   Our local news, cable Channel 12, is reporting a health care "crisis"
   in Independent School District 281, the Robbinsdale district that saw
   its operating levy referendum fail earlier this month. One teacher
   said his premium is rising by $600 per month. If true, I'd agree this
   is at least a personal crisis, especially since the collective
   bargaining agreement is already done and ratified for this period.
   My first thought is that this was the TV equivalent of a typo, that
   they meant $600 per year, not per month. But the interviews with
   teachers seemed to confirm this. One said she will effectively have a
   negative check at the end of this month. The general mood is that many
   teachers will have to move to another district.
   The Minneapolis Star Tribune only mentions that family care premiums
   have tripled since 2005, and not whether this is total or just the
   employee portion. And why would moving to another district solve the
   problem? Robbinsdale has already shopped other HMO's they said,
   without success.
   This works out to $7,200 a year assuming we're talking amortized 12
   month payroll for the 9 months worked as I believe is the norm.
   Regardless, this is no doubt a big shock to many family budgets. How
   could this happen?
   When a price rises sharply like this, we generally look to the usual
   suspects: higher demand, limited supply, and monetary inflation. We
   further assume there's little we can do about it, as with gasoline
   prices, only buy less of it, and this is harder to do with health
   care.
   But other districts and the private sector aren't seeing increases
   like this. I suspect the "problem" here may be that the 2005 rates may
   have been artificially low compared to the rest of the market. Maybe
   this was part of a incentive package the current HMO used to win the
   current contract, a one time "loss leader" that has now expired. Maybe
   this was part of the prior teachers' contract.
   Before sympathy is given or action taken, we need more information.
   How did District 281's 2005 rates compare with other districts, and of
   course, the private sector? And how do the new rates compare now?