Board Approves Restoring Paid Dental Plan

Board Approves Restoring Dental Insurance

During its October 17 meeting, the school board unanimously approved revisions to the employee medical plan that were proposed in the October 3 Study Session. Currently, the district offers two medical plans, a Core Plan and a Buy-Up Plan. Upon recommendation of the Insurance Committee, the board approved the elimination of the Buy-Up plan, which creates one Core Plan (with lower, $500 deductible) for all employees.

The board also approved an increase in the Wellness Benefit ($300-$500) and approved $100,000 from the Health Benefit Trust (HBT) be set aside to provide support for additional wellness initiatives, including programs such as Nurse-On-Call, Diabetes Disease Management and a wellness coordinator.

Restoration of Paid Dental - as outlined in the October 3rd Study Session report, the board unanimously approved the use of HBT reserve funds to to pay the full employee-only cost (base plan) for dental insurance. The administration had proposed a cost-share plan that would have had the district paying only $10 of the $15.97 premium. Board members chose unanimously to back the Insurance Committee's plan, strongly supported by SNEA, that will have the district cover the entire employee-only cost.

There was a bit of confusion over the continued use of the word "voluntary" when describing the dental plan. My understanding is that the current contract involves voluntary sign-up and that until a new contract is in place, the language stays the same. Note: You will have to sign up for the dental plan, and it is my understanding the district will facilitate the sign-up by making it plainly visible during open enrollment.

Without going into great detail, here is a brief outline of the dental plan:

• Benefit Maximum per person per policy year - $1,000
• Coinsurance Percentage per person, Type I (Preventive Services like evaluations, cleaning) - 100%. Type II (Basic Dental - X-Rays, new fillings, replacement fillings) - 80%
• Deductible - $50 per person per policy year (waived for Type I services)

Open Enrollment - You will receive more detailed info during the open enrollment period in November, where all benefited employees will sign up for the new medical plan. The new medical plan, with dental coverage, will go into effect in January 2007.