“Dozens of school districts that joined together to try to control health insurance costs for teachers are now having to figure out something new before next school year.”
School districts scrambling to control health insurance costs for teachers…………
“On May 25th, Denton ISD was informed that TSHBP’s reinsurance carrier has declined to continue coverage for Denton ISD and the 51 school districts involved with the TSHBP program. Their decision was based on utilization data for the 10 months of service provided and the cost of the policy to reinsure.” – Public Meeting Agenda: June 13, 2023 at 6:00 PM – Regular Meeting – BoardBook Premier
RELATED BLOG POSTING: Texas School Districts Struggle To Maintain Affordable Health Care
Beginning on May 25, 2023, Denton ISD was informed that the reinsurance carrier would not renew the contract for the TSHBP health insurance offering for 2023-2024. TSHBP board met to discuss options for moving the health insurance program forward. The plan approved by the TSHBP board was to increase rates to participating districts by 15% for directed care plans and 30% for Aetna plans. This increase would provide funding to cover potential claims from all 61 participating districts. The plan would not be fully funded but hold participating districts accountable for any claims above the premiums collected. Denton ISD, being the largest participating district, would account for 14% of any potential loss to the program.
During the spring of 2023 district leadership along with the Denton ISD board conducted a listening tourthroughout the district. This opportunity gave district leadership an opportunity to hear concerns on many matters. One of the loudest concerns was access to care and affordability of care. The transition from TRS ActiveCare for the 2022-2023 health care plan year had issues with plan acceptability by local medical providers. The largest of the providers, Texas Health Resources (THR) had the most impact. THR is the largest provider in Denton County. The limitation and overall accessibility issues on the directed care and the Aetna plans indicated a need for change. Financial Benefit Solutions the districts TPA began negotiating options for Denton ISD to consider.
At the June 16, 2023, school board meeting, the Denton ISD board approved a resolution giving Dr. Wilson authority to approve a final health insurance plan offering during the summer due to calendar issues with the next school board meeting on July 25, 2023.
Denton ISD, with the support of FBS began direct negotiations with BlueCross BlueShield of Texas. The outcome of the negotiations lead to a decision to accept an offer for employee health benefit coverage. The offering includes 3 plans: high deductible plan, Platinum HMO plan and Gold HMO plan. Plan outline and cost per plan are outlined below. In addition to securing the employee health care plans for 2023-2024 Denton ISD will be moving 2 of our dental plan offerings to BlueCross BlueShield. This addition allowed Denton ISD to secure a rate cap guarantee for the second year of the plan.
(Go to link below for additional information on benefits and rates)
SOURCE: Public Meeting Agenda: July 25, 2023 at 6:00 PM – Regular Meeting – BoardBook Premier
The TSHBP Board of Trustees
MONTY HYSINGER – Dumas ISD Superintendent
PEGGY HAYNES – Beaumont ISD – Sr. Director Auxiliary Services
AARON HOOD – Robert Lee ISD Superintendent
KELLEY VANNATTA – Whitehouse ISD – Chief Human Resource Officer
CARLA SETTLE – Cedar Hill ISD – Executive Director of Finance
