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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
SCHOOL EMPLOYEE INSURANCE POOL EXPANDS BENEFITS STATEWIDE
With the constitutional deadline of the 2007 Legislative Session quickly approaching, State Representatives and Senators alike are spending long hours at the Capitol, working to pass the remaining legislation before us. Leaders from both bodies are spending considerable time meeting with the Governor, hoping to reach agreement soon on budget bills that will fund E-12 and higher education, health care, transportation, and other key functions of our state government. I remain hopeful compromises on all of these bills can be reached that will begin to restore funding for top priorities such as all-day kindergarten, health insurance for every child in the state, improved funding for our nursing homes, and safer roads and bridges.
On Thursday, we debated and passed a bill that will create the Minnesota School Employee Insurance Pool. This legislation addresses the fact that many school districts across the state, especially smaller, rural schools, do not have enough employees to qualify for reasonable insurance packages. There are even some schools in our state not able to offer any health care benefits to their employees.
This legislation will create a mandatory insurance pool for all 200 thousand Minnesota school employees. Not only will this make insurance available in every district, it is expected to lower the price for many schools.
The concept behind this legislation is good. I agree that every school in our state should be able to provide health insurance for their employees at a reasonable price. Over the long-term, this plan should even out the spikes in prices that often follow large claims. However, not every school district is enthusiastic about this legislation. Some see no need to change because their current plans are adequate, and others who have negotiated good plans may actually see an increase in their cost.
At the outset, I voted to lay the bill on the table until further consideration for individual districts could be given; that vote failed and the discussion began. An amendment I supported to provide greater financial oversight was approved. There were many amendments proposed that would allow voluntary participation. I voted for one that would allow all districts to deliberate and chose to opt-in, with a six-year commitment required. The other options for opt-in or opt-out were not satisfactorily going to address the concerns of our local school districts. None of the voluntary options were adopted.
I voted for another amendment which would have allowed school employees to opt into the existing state health insurance plan - that amendment failed. An amendment I supported was adopted that makes it clear no employer is liable for obligations of the public corporation. Finally, I voted for an amendment seeking final approval by the legislature before any health plans are offered to employees - that amendment did not pass.
After several hours of debate, this bill was passed on a vote of 81 – 52.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue - I can be reached by phone at 1-888-682-3180 or 1-651-296-4193, by mail at 487 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn. If you are interested in receiving my session e-newsletter, please email me and your name will be added to our list.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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