Teachers face health-care trouble

Terry Webster

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001 | 8:49 a.m.

Teachers in the Clark County School District are reviewing health care options after learning their health trust is facing a deficit of several million dollars.

About 14,000 active teachers -- as well as retired teachers -- receive their health care benefits from the trust.

The health trust, which is run by a board composed of teachers, is expected to have a shortfall estimated between $5 million to $8 million, Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association, said.

Medical claims are still being paid, but the issue is "reaching a critical stage," Holloway said.

The health trust is a form of self-insurance for teachers, collecting premiums from the School District and teachers and paying out claims submitted to it.

Union officials said the problem can be fixed by keeping the trust and raising premiums, reducing benefits or switching to an outside health care provider.

About 700 teachers Tuesday turned out for a meeting at Cimarron-Memorial High School to review their options with union officials and representatives from the private health care company Sierra Health Services. It was the second such meeting held this week.

Enough options are being created so that teachers won't have to pay more for insurance, depending on the health care plan they choose, Holloway said.

The union is expected to vote in November on whether to keep the trust or go with Sierra Health.

Holloway pointed out differences between the teachers' health trust and the support employees' health trust, which was turned over to Sierra Health in September after falling several million dollars into debt.

"We're current with our claims," Holloway said. "They didn't know what their claims were, and they weren't processing them."

Holloway blamed the shortfall on skyrocketing health care costs.

"This is something that has been building for over a year," she said. "But it's an issue affecting everyone, even big corporations."

Teachers' payments into the health trust have been increasing, even though their salaries have not kept pace, Holloway said.

When the support employees health trust folded, district employees were stuck with unpaid medical bills -- some of them totaling tens of thousands of dollars.

James Brenner, an education computer specialist, said teachers actually lost money last year because of higher health insurance costs.

Other teachers said they were concerned about the prospect of giving up the trust because, once it is dissolved, it's unlikely it will start back up.

"My question was, why are we just dealing with Sierra Health?" retired teacher Dennis Ellestad asked.

"The retirees are worried about being dropped," he said. "They're worried about being turned out."

A letter from the health trust to retirees, dated Oct. 24, states: "The trust has no information at this time as to what plan will be offered to the licensed employees or whether Sierra Health will provide health benefits for retirees."