House, Senate conferees meet to resolve school health insurance legislation

House and Senate conferees are negotiating their differences on legislation that would require school districts to seek multiple bids for health insurance.

Sponsored by House Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) and Sen. Katie Sieben (DFL-Newport), HF2180*/SF1835 passed the House on April 7 on a 76-57 vote and passed the Senate on April 10 on 37-22 vote. Murphy, who noted in an interview that similar proposals have been debated at the Capitol for a decade, said districts would seek multiple bids for health insurance “with an eye on driving down costs and getting the best deal for school district employees and taxpayers.”

The bill would require school districts to seek group health insurance coverage from at least three insurers. The districts would be required to request a bid from the Public Employee Insurance Program. School districts would be required every two years to seek bids from insurers unless the union and the district agree to a longer period of time, Murphy said.  

A major difference for the conferees concerns an exemption for self-insured school districts. The House version would require self-insured school districts to seek multiple sources of insurance, while the Senate would exempt the self-insured districts.

In addition to the Murphy, the House conferees are Reps. Greg Davids (R-Preston) and John Ward (DFL-Baxter). In addition to Sieben, the Senate conferees are Sens. Vicki Jenson (DFL-Owatonna) and Jeremy Miller (R-Winona). The conferees on Monday adopted provisions that were similar or identical between the two chambers. Murphy said the committee could meet again as soon as Tuesday.