Affordable health benefits for part-time school employees.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 45 million Americans do not have health insurance. What's surprising is the majority of those individuals are actually employed. Part-time workers make up a full 15 percent of the uninsured population and school systems have a share of that group. (1)

Every day in the United States, approximately 10 percent of permanent teachers are absent for personal or professional reasons. This means that on a daily basis, almost 270,000 substitute teachers are needed. (2) Other uninsured individuals, often employed on a part-time basis, include school bus drivers who work approximately 20 hours per week, and custodial and cafeteria staff. (3)

Offering medical benefits to part-time or temporary staff members and their families can have a positive impact on productivity. That is because uninsured individuals receive fewer preventative services, less care for chronic conditions, and even delay getting necessary medical care. In fact, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that almost 40 percent of the uninsured population postpones care because of the cost. (4)

The business impact can be significant as well. According to a May 2004 statement released by the Health Care Policy Roundtable, a cross-industry collaboration of human resources leaders, the economic impact on the lack of health insurance on productivity, absenteeism, turnover and increased health care costs could be as high as $152 billion per year, or about $1,000 for every American worker. (5)

As a result, many businesses are taking advantage of limited benefits plans. These plans could include limited health and related employee benefits to part-time workers, such as medical, dental, vision, life, pharmacy, accidental death and short-term-disability coverage. The benefit types and dollar maximums offered by these plans are flexible and could include outpatient expenses for office visits, lab, diagnostic tests, X-rays, surgery, anesthesiology and prescription drug coverage. Providing flexibility in the types and amount of coverage offered allows school systems to find the plans that most directly fit their specific needs. These options can help control rising health care costs while also providing a retention advantage.

Offering benefits to employees who are typically not eligible for school system-sponsored benefits plans has the potential to slow turnover rate without a need for wage increases. The end result is a more satisfied, stable and healthy part-time workforce.

References:

(1) U.S. Census Bureau, 2003

(2) Substitute Teachers Institute, Utah State University 

(3) U.S. Department of Transportation

(4) Kaiser Family Foundation

(5) Health Care Policy Roundtable

Russ Dickhart, Vice President, Government and Labor Business, Aetna Inc.