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Movement on
Teacher Health Care
MIRS, November 10, 2005
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Key Senate
Republicans have scrapped their original plan to create a
state-operated insurance pool for Michigan teachers in favor of
giving local school districts the option to do it on their own.
"We're trying to put together a proposal with school districts
to allow them to pool to purchase insurance at a reduced cost,"
reported the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Shirley JOHNSON (R-Troy) confirmed that the Michigan
Federation of Teachers (MFT) has signed off on the alternative,
however the Michigan Education Association (MEA) is not yet in
the fold.
Johnson said the state will not mandate participation in the
local insurance pools, but she is convinced if school districts
exercise the option, there will be significant health care cost
savings.
For example, in her own Oakland County region, she said
officials have told her the savings could be $6-8 million.
Johnson huddled with the Senate Majority Leader Ken SIKKEMA
(R-Wyoming) on Tuesday as they laid the groundwork for the
introduction of this new legislation, which was laid out in a
new bill introduced today, SB 0896, sponsored by Johnson.
Johnson continues to remain confident that a deal can be worked
out with the MEA by the end of the year. But MEA lobbyist Al
SHORT was not nearly as upbeat. He wants to see so-called
safeguards that would require all insurance pools to have enough
cash reserves to cover health care bills, written into the bill.
Short said the MFT program does not contain those assurances,
which reduces the cost of those policies.
"The MFT's draft proposal may be well-intentioned, however, it
is risky and redundant and offers no real savings for Michigan's
education health insurance market," said a hand out prepared by
Michigan Education Special Services Association (MESSA), the
insurance arm of the MEA.
MESSA officials are concerned that the MFT, with lower costs,
may go after districts that currently have the MEA coverage.
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