Healthcare act affects policy changes for New Kent schools

With the Affordable Healthcare Act coming down the pipeline in 2014, New Kent School Board members took action Monday night on policies that will affect some school employees for the upcoming year.

With reluctant and disgruntled looks on their faces, members voted 4-1 to adopt definitions and policies to comply with the healthcare act. The new changes will continue to provide eligibility for health care coverage for full-time employees, but permanent part-time employees will receive healthcare coverage with premium assistance at a reduced level.

Discussed and researched by executive director of administration Cynthia Pitts over the last four months, new definitions for full-time employees and part-time employees were developed. Under the new definitions, a full-time employee is defined as an employee who works an average of 30 hours or more per consecutive work week for the school year and fills 100 percent of a budgeted full-time equivalency position. By contrast, a part-time employee is defined as an employee who works an average of less than 30 hours per consecutive work week for the school year and who fills less than 75 percent of a budgeted full-time equivalency position.

Those two definitions played vital roles in consideration of three options for providing healthcare coverage for employees for the 2014-15 school year. Currently, full-time school staff as well as bus and car drivers (who work less than 30 hours a week) are eligible for full-time health coverage. Starting next year those drivers, as well as some cafeteria employees, will be defined as permanent part-time employees and will be eligible for health coverage with premium assistance at a reduced rate.

Pitts spoke on the difficulty of recommending the options to the school board.

“We love our employees, but it’s also hard for us because it affects us financially,” she said. “This process and decision for a recommendation has been very difficult for us.”

Pitts, along with staff members, brought the issue to school board representatives in September to prepare for the incoming healthcare act. She also asked the board to address the issue so that if policy changes were implemented, those employees could go into the Affordable Healthcare Marketplace.

District 2 board member Dean Simmons, who cast the lone dissenting vote, commented on the issue.

“It would be nice to continue this practice, but I don’t think we can,” he said.

However, with VRS rates increasing for the upcoming year and no new revenue coming into the county, according to director of school finances Ralph Westbay, the option to offer the reduced rate for part-time employees appeared to be the path to choose.

“With this option, the board can designate the premium assistance,” added Pitts. “Some years it may be up, and some years it may be down. Ultimately, it will be up to the board to decide.”

School board members voted, but commented that the decision was one they wished they didn’t have to make.