Employees of USD 373 will have a new insurance plan — the board of education voted 7-0 Monday to approve a change to a different provider for flex benefits.
The change came about to try and prevent a more than 25 percent jump in health insurance premiums for those employees who purchase insurance through the school district.
“On a $500 deductible, the increase will be 17 percent,” said assistant superintendent of business Gary Jantz. “It would have gone up 26 percent without this. A $1,000 deductible will go up 15.7 percent.”
The new insurance plan, offered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, will bring with it new options — and of course some new rules.
The plan will allow for five doctor visits covered by a co-pay per person in each family. A family member can make more than five visits, but those would be paid out-of-pocket and credited towards a deductible.
Also, rather than a family plan having two deductibles as the old insurance plan did, the new plan will have three.
The new plan also will allow employees to opt for a $2,000 deductible, which would carry a premium similar to what was paid for insurance this year.
“People who don’t go to the doctor very often could choose that option and keep their premiums basically where they were this year,” Jantz said. “However, they are taking on more of a risk with that.”
Jantz said it was the third-level of deductible which likely motivated a committee of teachers, classified employees and school administrators to vote for switching to the new insurance plan.
“The committee felt like we had to do something to keep the premiums down,” Jantz said.
The district was notified earlier this year to expect at least a 25 percent jump in premiums. Last year, health insurance claims cost the insurance company more than what was paid for in premiums by the employees as a group.
District administrators called a meeting of the benefit committee within a week to discuss what options might be available. Blue Cross representatives have met with employees to discuss the new insurance plan and what options district employees have.
“Hopefully, in a year our usage will go down, and we can stabilize the premiums,” Jantz said.
The district has 650 employees who are eligible for flex benefits. Jantz told the board between two-thirds and 75 percent of employees purchase insurance through the district.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the hiring of Sara Adrian as .4 full time equivalent music teacher at St. Mary Catholic School, Melinda Rangel as business teacher at Newton High School and Shawna McCartney as a second grade teacher at Slate Creek Elementary School.
