Rendell proposes statewide health plan for teachers
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Gov. Ed Rendell is considering creating a statewide health plan for teachers and other school employees to save tax money and smooth contract talks between unions and school districts.
He's also proposed having the state kick money into the plan. While the state provides subsidies to school districts each year, this would be the first time the state specifically shouldered a portion of health care costs.
Mr. Rendell wants the Legislature to establish a Public School Employees' Benefit Board to study the feasibility of a single health plan for employees of 500 of the state's 501 school districts. Philadelphia would be exempt from the law.
If the study finds the idea cost-effective, the benefit board would be authorized to establish a health plan and phase school districts into it, according to a proposal the governor's office provided to Pittsburgh school board members last week.
Mr. Rendell wants the benefit board created this fall; the board's decision on whether to proceed with a statewide plan made by spring; and possible adoption of a health plan next summer. School districts would be folded into the plan as their collective bargaining agreements expired, the proposal said.
"This is an initiative we hope school districts will consider carefully," Mr. Rendell's spokesman, Chuck Ardo, said yesterday. "It's an opportunity to change the way business is done and change it for the better."
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association and Pennsylvania State Education Association, a teachers union, said they had been given the opportunity to comment on Mr. Rendell's plan and believe it merits study.
But they said they want to see details of a proposed health plan before signing on. To protect school districts' interests, PSBA Executive Director Thomas Gentzel said he'd like the Legislature to vote on establishing the board and then on any health plan the group puts forward.
The benefit board would be composed of four state officials, four representatives of employers and four of employees.
Theresa Colaizzi, chairwoman of the Pittsburgh school board's committee on contract negotiations, said a representative of the governor's office gave a brief overview of the program during a conference call with board members last week. Ms. Colaizzi said she would need additional information before taking a position on the proposal.
The proposal comes amid growing health care premiums.
The PSBA said districts spent about $1.5 billion, or 8.3 percent of their budgets, on health care in 2003-04. Costs have been "continuing to grow steadily" since then, association spokesman Scott Shewell said.
Right now, school districts negotiate health care benefits with teachers and other employees. Often, but not always, employees pay a percentage of health care premiums.
School districts purchase health coverage through an insurer, like Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield; or they may be self-insured; or they may belong to a consortium that attempts to get districts a better deal by spreading risk and leveraging joint buying power. Most Allegheny County districts belong to the Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium.
"It's basically a rate stabilization plan," said Jeffrey Kline, director of administrative services for Hampton Township School District, a consortium member.
All districts pay the consortium the same amount per plan and employee, but districts negotiate employee contributions with their unions, so health care is still an issue in contract talks. However, co-pays for prescriptions and doctor visits are set by the plan, not negotiated between districts and unions.
Like a consortium, a statewide plan would attempt to save money by capitalizing on economies of scale.
PSEA spokesman Wythe Keever said a statewide plan could ease the burden on property owners, whose taxes largely finance school district operations. He said standardized benefits also could remove a contentious issue from contract talks.
Under Mr. Rendell's proposal, employees would have to contribute to premiums. The contributions could be a flat rate or a percentage of an employee's salary, and the amount might vary by region.
The plan would be modeled after the Public Employee Benefit Trust Fund, the health care plan for state employees, retirees and dependents.
It would include doctor and hospital services, prescription drugs and other benefits the benefit board considers warranted. Mr. Keever said employees of charter schools and intermediate units should be among those covered.
Mr. Rendell's proposal would allow the board to consider twists on a statewide plan, such as regional pools.
If regional pools are needed, the Allegheny County consortium could help to fill that void, said Mike Garofalo, the consultant who helps operate the group.
First Published August 27, 2007 11:28 pm
