Coming out of the fact finding process we realized that it might be helpful for board members to understand the issues that are being discussed at the table. Our first video that we posted several days ago covers actuarial value. It's a term that originated with the Affordable Care Act and is an objective way of determining the 'value' of a benefit plan and can be used to compare health benefit plans.
Today we're introducing several more videos that cover the following topics:
The Right Care at the Right Price
VEHI covers 33,000 school employees and their dependents. If each person saved just $100 during the year by making more informed choices we could save over $3.3 million. That savings could shave 1.25% off the annual premium increase leaving schools with the ability to put more money towards services for students without raising taxes.
HRAs are Driving the Premium Increases
HRAs or Health Reimbursement Accounts first appeared with VEHI plans in 2018. These are school district, taxpayer funded savings accounts that can be used by school employees to cover out of pocket expenses. They are also one of the primary factors contributing to double-digit premium increases over the past few years.
Out of Pocket Cost Comparison
One of the goals for the Employer Commissioners during this round of bargaining is to begin to bring some balance to the cost share for healthcare benefits. In this video we'll discuss the Employer Commissioners position on out of pocket costs as it was presented to the fact-finder.
Comparing Premium Share and Out of Pocket Costs
How do today's VEHI healthcare plans compare to the ones that school employees had in 2017? And how do they compare to the healthcare benefits for Vermont State Employees? It may surprise you to know that today's plans for teachers and support staff are richer than the ones they replaced over three years ago and notably better than what's available to nearly everyone else in Vermont.