The Voice The Nebraska State Education Association March 2014 SEPTEMBER 2016 | THE VOICE | PAGE 1 #Oct 16 Voice.indd 1 9/26/2016 2:37:40 PM NSEA Comes to Defense of EHA Plan al model and has served Nebraska educators for decades,” he said. Legislative Hearing Investigates Actuary Kevin Dolsky advises the EHA Board of Directors on the health care plan’s management. Dolsky told senators that in each of Moving Teachers to State Coverage the last 10 years, the premium rate increases under the EHA plan have A legislative interim hearing on the health care plan that serves been under 10 percent. For the past six years, the annual increase has more than 80,000 members of Nebraska’s public education family averaged just over three percent. was a learning moment for Nebraska legislators. “That’s just extraordinary in this industry,” he said. The Legislature’s Education Committee listened as a parade of ed- Dolsky also said the EHA’s consistency rate is “extraordinary.” ucators and others voiced support for the Educator’s Health Alliance Consistency rate, he said, is an industry term that measures how plan. No one testified in support of North Platte Sen. Mike Groene's many customers stay with a health care plan. LR586 study to determine the viability of pulling all Nebraska public “Ninety percent is good, and 95 percent would be excellent,” said school employees out of the EHA plan and pro- Dolsky. “But the EHA has 99 percent. That is viding those employees with coverage through just extraordinary.” the State of Nebraska plan. An actuarial analysis shows that if the state Groene introduced LR586 with an intent to and school plans were combined, rates for those “examine the effects, fiscal impact, and poten- in the school plan would go up. tial cost savings of transferring public school “The evidence is that costs will go up if the employees from the system of district-based schools go into the state plan,” Dolsky said. health insurance plans to the Nebraska State In- The EHA plan earned further accolades surance program.” Among issues studied were: from Sandy Rosenboom, business manager for The fiscal impact if the state were to take on administrative the Crete Public Schools. She lauded the EHA wellness plan that is costs and school districts/employees paid premium costs. part of the strategy to keep premium costs in line. The option of including school district health insurance costs “To move to a state plan would be a major setback to the wellness within the state aid formula. work we have done to this point,” said Rosenboom. Those who testified, however, characterized the EHA plan as ef- Also favoring the EHA program was Seward State Sen. Mark fective, efficient and well-managed. Kolterman, an insurance professional by trade. As a member of the NSEA Executive Director Craig R. Christiansen reviewed the his- Seward Board of Education, Kolterman served on the EHA Board tory of the statewide plan NSEA formed in 1967, and told senators of Directors several years ago. He said that service showed that the that the EHA Board’s mission has always been to “obtain high-qual- EHA plan is “on solid ground, the service is second to none, and the ity health insurance coverage at reasonable prices for employees of internal workings of the plan is second to none.” Nebraska’s public school districts.” It is also important, said Kolterman, that the EHA health care car- The current plan, he reminded senators, is a collaboration between rier, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, is located in Nebraska. teachers, school administrators and school boards. “That is an important consideration,” he said. “It has become a national model of cooperation and remains Rate increases with the EHA plan have been minimal. unique in its structure, statewide scope and attractive costs,” he said. “Last week, I had to break the news to a small group that they face The plan utilizes consultants and has no property, no employees. a 27 percent increase” in premiums, said Kolterman. The board – six teacher members, three administrators and three Groene said he had hoped to tie health care costs into the state aid school board representatives – actively monitor the plan and continu- formula, and noted that health care is a major cost. ally consider the costs to all parties, including taxpayers. Christiansen “It’s amazing that I see a Sutherland teacher with a family of said the plan provides health care coverage at a reasonable cost and four earning $30,000 a year and (district) health care costs are is considered a “best value” for virtually every school district in Ne- $21,000 a year,” he said. braska, for several colleges and for many Educational Service Units. “EHA has done an amazing job, with the union sitting down “I ask that you not ‘fix’ a successful plan that has become a nation- with management,” Groene said. The Columbus Education Association is trying something a little different: three-co- Cover presidents. From left are CEA Co-Presidents John Petersen, Diane Garner and Marc Page Story: Baue. South Sioux City has a five-member leadership team on board. For details, turn to 6 Executive Director Craig R. Christiansen tober, November, February, April and August. Published Assoc. Executive Director Neal Clayburn online in December, January, March and May. Director of Public Affairs Karen Kilgarin Assistant Comm. Director Al Koontz Payment of annual NSEA dues entitles Nebraska educa- THE tors to receive The Voice. Cost of producing 10 issues of NSEA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Voice each year is $3.41 per member. President Nancy Fulton, Wilber-Clatonia VOICE Vice President Jenni Benson, Lincoln Nebraska State Education Association Advertising rates available on request. 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Great Public Schools For Every Child Published and mailed 6 times yearly in September, Oc- PAGE 2 | THE VOICE | OCTOBER 2016 #Oct 16 Voice.indd 2 9/26/2016 2:37:40 PM The President NSEA Comes to Defense of EHA Plan Lessons from Afar Hei! En puhu suomea. Every child attends a nine-year basic education That essential phrase — Hello! I can’t speak school, with six years in primary school and Finnish — was an essential phrase from one of three years in lower secondary schools (junior the world’s hardest languages to speak, read and high). This is followed by a three-year upper sec- write as I joined other state association presi- ondary education separated into two tracks: gen- dents last month on a study tour of Finland’s eral upper secondary and vocational school, with public school system. teachers in that track owning a master’s degree Finland has been attracting attention lately or more. They follow a national framework of by ranking at the top of global surveys due to curriculum objectives, but within the framework a universal health care system, strong environ- teachers have autonomy to teach as they wish. mental sustainability efforts, economic vitality, Just this year, a new curriculum called phenome- and, most of all, a very strong system of public non-based learning was introduced. In this mode, education. a classroom observes a real-life phenomenon NSEA President Point in case: my inability to speak Finnish and analyzes it through an interdisciplinary ap- Nancy Fulton was not a problem. Every Finn speaks English proach, a process that is similar to project-based — with varying levels of proficiency — because learning. English is one of the three languages taught in In three days, our group was able to visit two Finland’s public schools. basic education schools, a secondary school, two “ Since Finland emerged in the early part of this teacher training schools, the University of Helsin- It has century as the top-scoring country in educational ki, the Finnish National Board of Education, and achievement (as measured by the Organization the Opetusalan Ammattijarjesto (OAJ), the edu- taken years for Economic Cooperation and Development), cation trade union. We visited classrooms, talked for the Finns, researchers and policymakers from across the with students, teachers and principals, learned globe have been visiting the country and ana- about the quite rigorous teacher training programs, borrowing the lyzing what has been done to make Finland so and were immersed into the Finnish culture. best educational successful. The OECD ranking is based on the results of the PISA (Programme for International Trust, Autonomy practices from Student Assessment) tests which rank school Finnish schools seem to succeed so well large- systems worldwide every three years. ly due to the trust and relative autonomy given other countries, to Finland’s top-of-the-world standing has not to educators and administrators. Teachers earn attain excellence. always been the case. In the past, only about 1 close to the national average salary and are high- of 10 adults had completed more than the nine ly respected, and with good reason: Becoming a Perhaps today years of basic education.