Health benefit changes come for school system

EAST LIVERPOOL - The school district has accepted a proposal for the renewal of health insurance benefits.

Sealed bids were accepted concerning the benefits which will cover the medical, prescription drug and dental benefits for school employees.

The board voted 5-0 to accept the bid and services submitted by Ohio Mid-Eastern Regional Education Services (OME-RESA) for the Dec. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009, time frame.

School officials said the matter met the approval of legal counsel and adheres to union contract specifications currently in place.

There will be no change in the doctors or provider network covered under the new insurance policy, and those insured will get a new prescription drug card. The current deductible will remain the same as required by the collective bargaining agreement.

Phil Fritz, an employee of Burns Consulting gave a presentation Tuesday night to board members. The board hired the firm to conduct an examination of the options available and to make a recommendation.

For the medical and prescription drug rate, the current provider, Medical Mutual of Ohio, proposed in its bid a rate 12.3 percent higher than current costs with an annual funding amount of slightly more than $3.9 million.

OME-RESA's proposal was 1.3 percent more than the current costs and would require slightly more than $3.5 million in annual funding.

While both bids came with an increase in costs, the difference between OME-RESA's proposal and Medical Mutual's resulted in a difference of nearly $400,000 in savings for the district.

Fritz described OME-RESA as being a "hybrid program" and currently consists of 80 members - like the East Liverpool School district - in a consortium serving roughly 30,000 individuals.

The district will see a 6.6 percent decrease in the annual costs for dental insurance, according to the proposal from OME-RESA. It would amount to a savings of $12,828.

Because OME-RESA does not offer a vision coverage package, the board opted to stay with Medical Mutual of Ohio and those rates were left unchanged.

Board member Larry Walton said he wished he had more time to digest the information, but voted for the proposal as did the remaining board members.

Robert Estell said he voted for the change based on the fact it was reviewed by a consultant.

Fellow board member Janice Martin agreed. "I feel good about it," she said. "As we approach negotiations, we can use all the extra money we can get."

In other business, the East Liverpool City School Board of Education:

- reversed an earlier decision and voted to approve two invoices where the material was purchased before the invoices were issued. School board President Gary Bonnell said the issue is not as severe as in the past and added that school employees who makes such purchases should be warned and, if necessary, reprimanded.

- agreed to allocate an additional $7,180 to the superintendent's advertising account in order to publish and mail two newsletters to the community to garner support for the district and provide information.

- approved the annual spending plan for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

- heard from Halbert who offered praise and congratulations to Treasurer Dan Telzrow. Telzrow was offered a position with the West Branch Local Board of Education. He will remain with the East Liverpool City School System until December.