While many of the 240 school districts enrolled in the State Health Benefits Plan may be scrambling to find money to cover a huge increase in their employee health benefits coverage come January 1, WW-P officials say they have the 25 percent increase in their costs covered.##M:[more]##
Two state commissions, including the state Health Benefits Commission and the School Employee Health Benefits Commission — which is run by appointees of the New Jersey Education Association — approved hikes in healthcare costs up to 25 percent. Larry Shanok, the WW-P Assistant Superintendent of Finance, said the commission kept rates artificially low and Aon, which is the insurance consulting firm, have reported each year that they would be running a big deficit.
“We were very much aware,” said Shanok. “Over the last 10 years, 5 of the 10, we had health costs that increased by 14 percent or more, including one year that it increased by 21 percent.”
It was nice to have lower premiums for the last two years, said Shanok, but “it was inevitable that there was going to be a big increase.”
Thus the district budgeted enough money in the budget to carry the 25 percent increase the district will face this year. “Fortunately, we won’t have the situation I gather most districts are in, where they don’t have enough money in their budgets at all,” Shanok added. “While it’s a healthy increase, it’s for the second half of the year.”
However, “whatever increase they do the following January, we will need an increase in next year’s budget,” Shanok added.
