Senate OKs bill for teachers

BOISE — Legislation to put Idaho teachers on state health insurance headed to the governor on Thursday.

The Senate voted 32-3 to approve the plan that backers said will allow Idaho K-12 teachers and other school workers to take home more of their paychecks.

The law would give school districts an opportunity to leave private health care carriers and join the state’s self-funded health insurance plan.

Backers said it’s needed to help the state hire and retain teachers by reducing their costs for premiums and deductibles. Lawmakers said health insurance costs are eating into Idaho teacher paychecks and causing many to consider leaving the profession.

The bill is not a budget bill, and it doesn’t allocate any money. Instead, it creates a dedicated fund that would hold money needed for public schools to buy into the state’s medical and dental group insurance plan.

Legislation containing financing is expected to follow. That involves a one-time appropriation of $75.5 million needed if all schools opt to enter into the state employment plan.

The other part involves an ongoing $105 million to help cover employee health insurance costs. That would increase the $8,400 schools get per employee to $12,500, the level the state pays for its employees for health insurance.