Teachers are considering a move after their current health-care
provider imposed a steep increase in rates.
Gilroy – Teachers are considering a move after their current health-care provider imposed a steep increase in rates.
Last month, Kaiser Permanente imposed a 27 percent hike in the insurance rates for teachers in the Gilroy Unified School District. The jump – the largest in at least 27 years – has angered teachers and prompted them to explore alternative providers.
“Everyone was just shocked,” said Michelle Nelson, president of Gilroy Teachers Association and an employee in the district since 1980. “This is the highest Kaiser increase I’ve ever seen.”
The increase is in reaction to a higher utilization rates among Gilroy employees than in nearby districts, teachers reported the insurance company told them. A representative from Kaiser could not confirm the reason for the hike by press time.
Teachers have hosted a series of meetings with health-care representatives to discuss the increase. At the first, they asked Kaiser to reconsider the hike and use a larger set of data, rather than numbers from only the past year. The company refused to do so, Nelson said.
“They are adamant that they are going to charge the district 27 percent more,” she said.
At the third meeting, teachers discussed switching to Blue Cross of California, which would provide broader coverage at a slightly higher price, Nelson said. The date for the final decision on which provider to use has not been set.
Regardless of the health plan, the cost of health care for teachers will rise starting in September. This sets up a battle between the district and the teachers regarding who will pay for the increase.
“Of course, the district is going to say the teachers should, and of course we’re going to say the district should,” Nelson said.
Nelson requested that a district representative, school board trustees and union officials meet in August for special negotiations on the rate hike.
Linda Piceno, assistant superintendent of human resources, said she will not be handling the matter since she is retiring at the end of June. Board president Tom Bundros did not return phone calls.
Whatever the schedule, the negotiations are bound to be difficult, Nelson said. The district is facing a tight budget and teachers – who regularly complain that they are underpaid – are not eager to pay out-of-pocket expenses, she said.
“It might create some chaos here,” she said.
