Stanley-Boyd could start school early next year, pending the outcome of an early start date waiver filed with the state.
Approved at the Monday, Nov. 24 school board meeting, the early start waiver would allow the school to start early and thus get done early, coming as the district is looking to do a district office relocation near the main entrance.
“The question is, do you want the option to start before September 1?” Koenig asked the board. Approved in turn with a motion by board member Chad Verbeten seconded by Toni Seidl, the early start waiver application now goes to the state for approval. The board held off on making calendar decisions for the coming year as it awaits word on the waiver request.
Also Nov. 24, the School Board approved new health insurance for its employees, opting to go with Aspirus in place of United Healthcare.
The new plan, which represents a 15 percent raise in health insurance costs for the district (the lowest price increase offered by those bidding), gives employees a choice between Aspirus Signature and Aspirus Freedom.
Also considered but not chosen by the board was Security Health, with Premier, Simply One, and Explore plans. Other healthcare providers were deemed to not have competitive bids, due to things like not having doctors in the area or too high stop loss.
“I shared the information with you on our renewals, and we received information in,” district superintendent Jeff Koenig told the board of district insurance coverage. “We currently have UHC.”
Under current rules district employees pay 10 percent and the district pays 90 percent of the insurance cost.
“That includes the retirees who are still on the insurance,” Koenig said. The district had received a quote with an approximately 44.9 percent or $900,000 insurance increase in the coming year from United Health, which Koenig said “was really going to set back our budget.”
“As well I think the board is aware our employees have not been happy with UHC’s coverage,” he said. “There’s been a lot of problems. People that were denied coverage of things that they felt they shouldn’t be denied. It’s been a rough year with UHC insurance.”
Asked to reconsider after the district received competing bids, UHC said it would not.
Koenig summarized the two alternate bids, one from Aspirus and the other from Security Health.
“We did get a bid from Aspirus Health Plan, and I’ll share more information on that. One is a restricted network, the other has a lot more options. The more restricted Signature plan would cover things at Aspirus Stanley but not elsewhere, while Aspirus Freedom had more flexible options for coverage in terms of its network and included Marshfield Clinic Medical Centers and the Mayo Clinic Health System. Surgeries at Oakleaf were also covered under Aspirus Freedom, Koenig said. Aspirus Freedom would be a 17 percent increase for the district, with Signature offering a 1.5 discount from this for a 15 percent increase.
Aspirus Health Plan is wholly owned by Aspirus Health, covering Clark County locally at Aspirus Stanley Hospital, with additional counties covered as well through contracting to enhance the provider network. Aspirus plans to expand to Chippewa County with Aspirus Chippewa Falls Hospital and Clinic in 2026. Plan options with Aspirus include on and off exchange individual plans, large and small group risk plans, group self fund and level funded plans, as well as Medicare Advantage. Plans can be viewed in more detail at www.aspirushealthplan.com.
Back at school board, Koenig gave details on Security Health as well.
“Security Health gave us bids of three different plans,” Koenig said. Premier and Simply One was the same insurance the district had prior to UHC, with Explore including the Marshfield network. The hybrid rate between Premier and /simply One based on past usage would be approximately 25.8 percent, Koenig said.
“The hybrid rate between Premier and Simply One, based on people that used it in the past, would be about 25.8 percent,” he said for Security Health. Neither Security or United were as good as Aspirus for cost to the district.
“Aspirus has the two plans, the two different options they can choose. We estimate it’s about a 15.9 percent increase based on what employees have done in the past. So it would be shy of $300,000 increase,” he said, or one third of the cost of continuing with UHC.
“My recommendation to you is to go with Aspirus Health, because it’s the lowest cost,” Koenig said for health insurance options before the board. Koenig had said he had met with staff who were vocal in their dislike of UHC, while support was shown for the change to Aspirus. District employees showed high use of the Aspirus Stanley Hospital, with Aspirus Freedom including all Aspirus hospitals and others as well, expanding the network.
The board opted to go with Aspirus following discussion and clarifications on details, motion made by board member Chad Verbeten and seconded by Ton