During the past several weeks we have discussed various pay and benefit issues in the Martin County School District. This article will address the district’s employee health care benefit plans.

Current records reveal that there are 2127 employees in the district's HMO plan - a no premium cost plan for individual employees. The plan covers a full range of medical, dental, vision, EAP, life and cafeteria benefit plans. Family members may be added at the employee's expense. Approximately 25 employees are enrolled in the PPO/POS plan that offers more flexibility and selection of health care providers at an additional cost to the employee. These plans are available to both union and non-union employees. Employees continue to pay co-payments, deductibles, etc. and the cost per employee to the district is $591.40 a month.

Part-time employees are also covered if they work at least 4 or more hours, but less than 7.5 hours per day. The district pays 50 percent of the premium costs and the cost per employee is $295.70 per month.

The district also provides optional benefits such as Supplemental Life, Disability, Flexible Spending accounts, and a variety of AFLAC insurances - all at the employee's expense. The district also offers a 403(b) and 457 savings plans (similar to 401(k) plans) or salary deferral plans where employees may save on a pre-tax basis subject to IRS limits. The district does not contribute to these employee accounts.

The total cost of all health care plans is well over $19,000,000.00 per year. While the district has done a good job in trying to control costs our concern is that more than 2,000 employees are being provided a full range of health care benefits at relatively no cost. As a result, taxpayers are left to pick up the expense of millions of dollars each year. While taxpayers are struggling to provide for their own health care needs, it is irrational to presume that the taxpayers should be obligated to pay for free health care benefits for district employees. It is our position that the Superintendent and the School Board should immediately address this issue by requiring that all employees share the cost of premiums (the average in the private sector is 70/30) and also find ways to reduce or eliminate certain benefits or provide them on an optional basis. The administration must also address the growing cost of retiree benefits. As more and more employees retire in the near future these costs will grow accordingly.

In order to cope with increasing retiree costs, many private sector employers have either eliminated health care benefits entirely or increased the cost sharing of premiums, raised deductibles, or sought alternatives such as health savings accounts or the purchase of "medigap" type insurance plans that supplement Medicare or state provided benefits. Current retirees share some of the costs of their health care benefits or get free benefits depending on their years of service. Another little known fact is that some retirees receive supplements from the state under a Health Insurance Subsidy program (HIS) whereby they receive supplements that range from $30.00 to a maximum of $150.00 a month. We believe the district should consider offsetting this subsidy in order to reduce the cost to the county. In essence, taxpayers should not have to pay twice for the same benefit.

The MCTA believes in providing county employees with competitive but not overly generous employee benefits. However, the district should end the ‘free ride” in health care benefits and renegotiate all union contracts as soon as possible to reflect the current economic conditions and provide taxpayer relief.