Posted by: Jeff Prickette, Strategic Risk Advisor
We work with several public school districts in the State, and with the passage of Act 10, things are, to say the least, “active.” There is a fine line between saving money for the District and taking too much away from existing benefit plans to cause dissatisfaction. In addition, school districts are quickly moving to the challenging position of having to compete much harder for quality teachers, especially within the areas where they are located.
Act 10, along with the Federal Affordable Health Care Act, will continue to pose challenges for school districts for several years in the future. Districts will receive less and less state aid, and as the federal health care bill continues to unfold, it appears it will drive employer costs up, at least in the next 3-5 years. Innovation will be necessary, especially in the areas of health plan design (deductibles, coinsurance, drug plans, etc.), not simply in raising out of pocket costs to employees, but how to best to deal with this new financial exposure for employees who have not faced this scenario, maybe yet in their life. There are inexpensive tools out there to help with this exposure; we can help.
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