The Rising Cost of Teachers’ Health Care
The Rising Cost of Teachers’ Health Care
Private-sector employers pay much less
By Robert M. Costrell and Jeffery Dean
The high-profile battle in Wisconsin over collective bargaining on public-sector benefits, as well as lower-profile battles in Ohio and Massachusetts, was to a great extent about health insurance costs for teachers. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker anticipated health care savings of $68 million for schools from his legislative proposal; actual savings turned out to be even greater, according to recent estimates. Nationally, school budgets have been hit hard by health-care costs for many years, and the recent fiscal strain has brought this into even greater focus.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that school district costs for teachers’ health insurance rose at an average annual rate of 4 percent above inflation from 2004 to 2012. In 2004, health insurance costs tacked 11.4 percent onto teacher earnings; in 2012, they added 15.5 percent. At roughly $560 per pupil per year,
Private-sector employers pay much less
The high-profile battle in Wisconsin over collective bargaining on public-sector benefits, as well as lower-profile battles in Ohio and Massachusetts, was to a great extent about health insurance costs for teachers. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker anticipated health care savings of $68 million for schools from his legislative proposal; actual savings turned out to be even greater, according to recent estimates. Nationally, school budgets have been hit hard by health-care costs for many years, and the recent fiscal strain has brought this into even greater focus.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that school district costs for teachers’ health insurance rose at an average annual rate of 4 percent above inflation from 2004 to 2012. In 2004, health insurance costs tacked 11.4 percent onto teacher earnings; in 2012, they added 15.5 percent. At roughly $560 per pupil per year,