ELMHURST, IL – A divided Elmhurst School District 205 board on Tuesday approved a health insurance contract for next year.
In so doing, a dissenter called one aspect of that agreement a “bad business decision.”
For two years, the district has seen double-digit health insurance cost hikes, the last one being 37 percent.
This is happening while the district has budgeted a $5.8 million deficit for this school year.
Last month, the district revealed that its insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, was requiring a 10.1 percent increase.
But because of agreed-upon savings, that hike ended up being 5.1 percent. The district was able to do so while “maintaining high-quality benefits” and creating “minimal disruption” for staff, said Chris Whelton, assistant superintendent for finance.
Board member Jim Collins, who belongs to the district’s new insurance committee, said the panel did a “commendable” job recommending changes to keep cost increases to 5.1 percent.
But he said he was concerned the contract fails to require preauthorization for using a particular weight-loss drug that costs $1,400 a month.
“Preauthorization is a pretty minor requirement, and it’s based on the latest standard of care in medicine,” he said.
Collins noted the district’s consultant, Alliant, told the board that half of its school clients don’t cover the weight-loss drug, while the other half require preauthorization, except District 205.
“I view not requiring preauthorization for this class of drugs as a bad business decision for our employees and our taxpayers,” Collins said.
Member Courtenae Trautmann also had issues with the proposal. She said the district is an outlier from its counterparts in containing costs.
“I’m disappointed that there was not agreement to some of the items that I really feel could play a significant part in alleviating future potential costs to our taxpayers,” she said. “There is data to support that there are further cost-saving measures that do not impact our staff in a negative way.”
Member Kara Caforio said she would vote for the contract to respect the insurance committee’s process. But she warned that increases in benefits mean less for salaries.
The board voted 5-2 for the contract, with Collins and Trautmann dissenting.
The 12-member insurance committee is divided equally between representatives of unions and the administration. Four members are from the teachers union and one each from the custodian and support staff unions.
Late last month, the board voted to demand the committee reach an agreement on health insurance. The board said the panel was deadlocked.
“If the committee is unable to send such a proposal, the board will vote on an insurance plan at its next meeting,” board President Athena Arvanitis said at the time.
