Bill description: This bill would increase the portion of healthcare coverage school districts pay for their employees.

Rating: -1

Analyst note: The state provides healthcare funding for public school districts with a formula based on a number of different factors. Part of this formula are funds allocated to allow districts discretion to cover certain variable costs such as utilities and insurance. Insurance costs have escalated, decreasing discretionary funds and leaving little money for anything else. This bill is intended to address this issue.

Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

This bill would tie state funding of school districts to the increasing costs of health insurance for state employees. The estimated cost of this change is $860 per employee, or a total of $20,260,000. While the total increase in spending would depend on how much a school district is currently contributing to employee healthcare, this bill could only raise it. We find it objectionable that school districts, like the state government, have largely failed to adjust premiums or deductibles, the way the private sector has. This bill would force taxpayers to subsidize extremely low deductibles and premiums. (-1)