Volume 21, Issue 1

March 2007

MSWCDEA

What I like most about all of you district employees is…you are not afraid to speak up.  We need people that will speak up in order to understand problems and try to figure ways to solve them.  So with that being said, let’s talk about health insurance.

 

During the past year, I have had calls from districts asking if there was any way district employees could have a statewide group insurance plan.  Due to ages, health, and amount of allocations received, some district employees are being forced to go to higher deductible plans and are paying significant amounts out of their own pockets.

 

The current method of allocating funds to a district is based on an outdated Missouri Consolidated Health Care (MCHC) area rate system. From FY-00 to FY-05 districts received funding according the MCHC area in which they were located. For the past two years, most districts have received a percentage increase.   There are currently 61 districts receiving $609.49 to $664.93, 4 districts receiving $520.13 to $571.28, 33 districts receiving $404.84 to $471.50 and 16 districts receiving $387.68.  It is obvious the districts in the upper range have a better opportunity to obtain an excellent health insurance plan, while those districts in the lower range are at a financial disadvantage.    In some cases, the higher allocated districts have unused funds.  The current health insurance benefit fund is $1,493,032.00.  Last year districts utilized $1,293,687.00, which left $199,345.00 unused.   One suggestion made was to divide the benefit fund equally among employees.  Dividing the benefit fund by 300 employees would result in a $414.73 per month allocation for each district employee.

 

In ball park figures, last year there were 100 district employees insured by MCHC, 100 employees with Blue Cross, 50 employees with other insurance companies (including spouse insurance) and 50 employees, which did not participate.   If 50 employees continued to not participate, dividing the current fund by 250 employees would be $497.68 per employee.  The current average age of district employees is approximately 46 years young.  As district employee ages increase, they will become greater health risks for insurance companies and it is obvious that health insurance plans will become more expensive.

(Continued on Page 11.)