Schools look at ways to cut health insurance costs

Trying to balance the budget for Niles school officials got tricky this year. Like other Trumbull County districts, Niles City Schools are trying a little wellness to improve both fiscal and physical health.

Shrinking revenues in a city hit hard by loss of business and home foreclosures mean less money to operate the school district. Added to that are rising energy bills and other expenses that left the district looking at a $2 million deficit.

After cutting transportation and teaching positions, the school balanced its budget. But the teachers contract still was being negotiated, and that meant dealing with requests for raises while making sure health care costs didn't increase.

"By making several changes, we were able to reduce the cost of health benefits," Superintendent Rocco Adduci said.

The union agreed to several changes in the benefits plan. Niles, a self-insured system, managed to save $250,000 on its premiums.

Part of the savings came from trying to improve employee health instead of paying for illnesses.

''While increasing deductible and co-pay amounts is a good start, over time, the value of the increase wears off due to utilization, technology, inflation and an aging population,'' said Ed Byers, spokesman for the Medical Mutual of Ohio company. Medical Mutual administers the health benefit for most of the school districts in Trumbull County.

''A few years later, a school district finds it is again looking for ways to control costs. Wellness is definitely an answer and a good start,'' Byers said.

In the wellness plan, routine and preventive exams and tests are covered fully. That encourages employees to stay in touch with their personal health situation, he said.

There also are free smoking cessation programs, and Medical Mutual offers a reimbursement for joining Weight Watchers and offers discounts for certain health club memberships.

In addition to implementing Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield's health and wellness program, Adduci said the district no longer will provide coverage for surgery treatments for morbid obesity. Because Niles is self-insured, the district covers the cost of employee medical claims, and pays a fee to the company to administer the program.

''These surgeries, and we have had several, are very, very expensive,'' Adduci said.

Employees still may have the surgery, but they must pay the cost themselves.

The Trumbull County schools insurance consortium also is placing new emphasis on wellness, along with changing coverage costs.

There are 14 school districts in the consortium. The plan, administered by the Educational Service Center, has seen costs increase for the schools by $5 million, or 33 percent, in since 2005.

Vicki Giovangnoli, superintendent of TCESC, said starting July 1, consortium members saw significant changes to their insurance plans. All employees on those plans now pay 5 percent of the monthly premium. Any new employees will be responsible for 10 percent of the payment. How that is handled is negotiated in each district, she said.

They also implemented Medical Mutual's wellness plan, she said.

''For routine exams, things like colonoscopies, X-rays, these are covered at 100 percent,'' she said. "We're really emphasizing preventive plans. There are no costs or co-pay to the employees.''

By having no costs to employees for routine things, she said, the districts hope to catch problems before they advance and become more expensive. Employees also are encouraged to use a confidential online health assessment.

The county schools still cover morbid obesity surgeries, but they're strictly monitored and have benefit caps and higher co-pays than other procedures, she said.

In Howland, a district like Niles that is outside the county consortium, school officials took another approach toward lowering costs. Their contracts have a working-spouse clause: If an employee's spouse is offered insurance benefits through their jobs, they have to take that plan or pay the school district $100 each month.

''We have yearly audits to make sure we are covering only those people we should be covering,'' Howland Superintendent John Sheets said.

Also, the school is forming a committee to explore ways to reduce costs further, using state-developed guidelines as a blueprint.

This year, teachers in Howland will pay 5 percent of their health premium for the first time in school history, Sheets said. The contract with support staff is still in negotiation.

ateutsch@tribtoday.com

Member Comments

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gundogjunkie
08-12-08 2:45 PM »Report Abuse	Then lets not play favorites. Government employees shouldn't be carrying health benefits through retirement either when they are laying the burden of paying for them on the public. Especially if they choose early retirement and pick up an other job and still use the health care from the government job. I spent years in college and didn't graduate and start in a high paying job. I worked years to make a decent wage. Now while the economy is down I'm loosing thousands a year. They choose to be teachers. If they thought it would be easy then shame on them. And I don't get a volunteer to help me with my job.
Billdog
08-12-08 12:14 PM »Report Abuse	The reality is all government employees have health care after retirement. This includes your congressman, senators, water department worker, street department and the list goes on. It seems people really spend a lot of time criticizing someone that has 18 to 20 years education, is left to be responsable for your children, and spends part of their paycheck to make sure their job is done. Our congressmen and senators if they only get elected to one term get much more than any teacher. I use to volunteer at my sons school and found that teachers don't have the easy job that most perceive based on their time as a student. If you think teachers have it so easy, try being one on the salary they start on.
gundogjunkie
08-12-08 10:33 AM »Report Abuse	Are they still paying full benefits for retired teachers? That burns me up. Especially when these retired teachers decide to go out in the job market and start a second career and still have full benefits from their first career, the teaching job. Life long benefits for teachers cost a fortune. The public sector ends up paying for medical care when you are more likely to have expensive claims. I don't know... Do you think the medical world looks at a retired teacher with full retirement benefits and see dollar signs? When I retire I'll have medicare and still be paying for the posh benefits of teachers. Something needs done there.
warrenguy
08-12-08 9:31 AM »Report Abuse	amazing that so many new schools have been built when nothing was wrong with the old ones.Just where is accountabilty? I am willing to bet that there will be no money to pay for utilities. Seems like some one has more control of big dollars and much less brains
pahootaman
08-12-08 9:28 AM »Report Abuse	The teachers seem to get a lot of exams for free that would normally cost someone in the private secotor, even with insurance. Maybe preventative helth care would lower costs. I seem to remember all my teachers to be out of shape messes.
OldManGrump2
08-12-08 8:13 AM »Report Abuse	The typical non-government plan has employees paying 20-30% of the insurance premium cost. It's no wonder the schools need so much more funding with 5% & 10% for teacher premiums paid by them. I think it's time they pay their fair share like the rest of us in the private sector do.
virutalia
08-12-08 7:37 AM »Report Abuse	Limit the gut-toters

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