Idaho Legislature approved a bill to help fund teacher health care. Here’s what it does
Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly earlier this week had stood in front of a committee of legislators, with stories of employees at Idaho public schools leaving their jobs because they could no longer afford to work there.
Bus drivers and custodians, he said, are choosing to go to other companies that offer better salaries and benefits than those offered by Idaho school districts. Teachers are considering leaving the classroom. Part of that rests on the high prices school employees sometimes pay for health insurance.
He urged lawmakers to support a bill that could help ease the burden that high health insurance costs put on school employees.
“I hear the stories constantly,” he told the Senate committee. “Educators in some rural districts write checks back to the district at the end of the month to pay for expensive health insurance policies. They basically work solely for insurance. … When good educators leave, student achievement suffers.”
Senators approved the bill Thursday in a 32-3 vote. It’s now being sent to Gov. Brad Little, who publicly supported the measure and is expected to sign it.
New fund will let schools buy into state’s health care
The bill creates a fund for public schools to buy into the state’s medical and dental group insurance plan. That one-time amount is estimated to be about $75 million. School districts will have two years to decide whether they want to join the state’s health care plan.
The bill also removes “leadership premiums,” which provides bonuses to teachers who do additional work.
The bill is part of a three-part plan to help improve the health care benefits for public school employees, said Sen. Jim Woodward, a Sagle Republican.
The other components include an ongoing funding appropriation of about $105 million to help boost funding for school employees’ health insurance costs from $8,400 to $12,500, in line with the amount currently funded for state employees. The other part is a one-time funding appropriation of $75 million.
“The motivation for the effort is to make our schools more competitive, in recruiting and retaining teachers and support staff,” Woodward said Thursday on the Senate floor.
Several senators on Thursday voiced support for the bill, calling it a historic opportunity. Lawmakers also shared personal experiences about how their own family members and constituents who work in schools have been impacted by high health insurance costs.
Emmett Republican Sen. Steven Thayn said he thinks the plan could do more to increase teacher take-home pay than some of the other efforts legislators have made over the past few years. Much of the increases in teacher pay have been “sucked up” by increasing health insurance costs, he said.
Idaho senators say vote shows they value state’s educators
Senators also said the bill and legislators’ commitment to improving health insurance options for teachers is a way to show those employees how much they are valued.
“Teaching is a very high-stress job,” said Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, a Boise Democrat. “I know that having better health coverage will be a benefit not only to the teacher but also to the students, because we can keep our teachers in the classroom.”
Many other education officials have previously spoken out in support of the bill. They said it would help teachers get access to high quality and affordable health insurance and help districts retain teachers.
“Districts across the state are struggling to keep and find employees due to multiple issues and the ability to offer better benefits will help the retention of staff,” said Andy Grover, executive director of the Idaho Association of School Administrators. “This is especially true for all our rural districts who struggle with the increase of insurance costs each year.”
McInelly said that for the first time in a long time, the educators he represents are hopeful.
“I’ve heard it said many times that the legislation before you would be a game changer for Idaho educators,” he said earlier this week. “If anything, that’s an understatement.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 1:01 PM.
