I’ve written briefly about the problems with teacher health insurance in Arkansas in the past here, here, and here. Last fall, Governor Beebe called a special session in order to find a solution to the projected 50% increase in premiums for teachers that was slated to begin this past January. A short-term solution was implemented, and public school employees saw a much smaller premium increase than originally feared. For the most part, this was only a one-year solution, and again teachers and other public school employees were scheduled to face a premium increase as high as 35% for the 2015 plan year.
Governor Beebe has called a second special session, scheduled to begin today, in order to find a more long-term solution. A legislative task force has been at work on this issue, and they’ve found a solution that will reduce the 35% premium increase to an average of only 3%. This is only an average. Some public school employees may see an increase in premiums of more than 3%, while some may see their premiums decrease. In order to accomplish this, the task force is proposing:
- Transferring $4.6 million per year from school district funding to the public school employee health insurance plan;
- Making part-time public school employees ineligible for coverage;
- Making spouses of public school and state employees ineligible for coverage if they are offered health insurance through their employment; and
- Limiting coverage for certain weight loss procedures.
No bills have been filed as of the time of this original post, but I’ll update here as they are.
UPDATE:
As expected, all bills passed with flying colors. Here are the bills that have been submitted to the Governor for signature: